Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

IC: Briar Thorne
Empress Teta

The poor guy at the ticket counter was probably taken aback, if not downright scared, to see so many figures approach his booth. They were of all shapes and sizes, some of them downright fearsome looking. And there was nothing he could do about it but try and take it. They had never let him have anything to use to protect himself in case some hooligan tried to rob him, and it always made him a little nervous. So when a brown-haired woman approached his counter, he was unsure of what to say.

“We’ll take 46 all-day tickets,” Briar said casually.

“You some sort of travelling tour group or something?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” Briar asked.

“Um, that’s fine,” the guy said, unsure of what to do now. “You wanted how many tickets?”

“46,” Briar said without breaking stride.

The ticket guy, Briar guessed, had never seen such a large group want tickets in his life. He tried to push as many as he could through his little glass window, and the others with her snapped them up almost as soon as they were handed out. It didn’t help that Eddie Munster gave the guy a rather toothy smirk, which probably made him even more nervous than he was to begin with.

Finally they went inside. Briar wasn’t going to let a trip to Empress Teta go by without a trip to the sport’s Hall of Fame. There were so many things to learn here about the past, present, and future of the game they all knew as Limmie or bolo-ball. And she had something to tell all of her players.

“Form up,” she finally said. The players did so, although it wasn’t a very tight formation. They look like kindergartners waiting for their midday snack, she thought to herself. “Listen up. I brought you all here today for a reason. In case you were asleep on the way over, of if you’ve been hiding under a rock forever, this is the Limmie Hall of Fame. This is where the big boys and girls find themselves after their careers. At least one of our number is enshrined in this place, a testament to excellence.” She looked straight at Dirxx Horstse, who had accompanied the team here to help the defenders in their upcoming friendly against the lower-league Empress Teta Pikemen.

“This place is where everyone wants to be someday, but only a select few make. To be enshrined here, it means that you were simply the best at what you did in your career. It’s an amazing honor to be here, and there is so much to learn. But the reason I brought you here was to give you more than a history lesson.

I brought you here because this is what all of you need to aspire to. This franchise has recently been about as worthless as Nemoidians trying to learn how to operate their own high-tech equipment without starting an argument on philosophical or theoretical grounds.” There were some laughs from the crowd, but not many. “It’s time that we all turn this thing around, one piece at a time. Walk around, soak it all in, and remember the drive, the passion, the intensity and energy, it took for these beings to get their names in here. None of the enshrinements were a fluke; they were all well-deserved. And if you want to win in this league, you need to aspire to play like the greats. You’re going to stop playing like sissies and get your hands dirty. You’re going to play this game not just because you’re good at it, but because you’re trying to make history. For the lucky few of you who have won a Galactic Cup, you’ve been to the top of the mountain. Now it’s time to get there again. And that all starts with a walk through the museum, a chance to see what odds winners fought against and conquered. None of them gave up; the quitters are lost to time. But the real winners, they’re here, and you need to heed their advice. The time to start winning begins now.”

---

IC: Christine Gamble

“Where do we even start?” Christine asked, looking around the gigantic museum. “This place probably takes entire days to get through.”

“We have to start somewhere,” Ava commented. “That looks good,” she then said, pointing to an exhibit hall. A few of their teammates were going there as the team spread out.

The roommates went into the exhibit hall. It was likely a traveling exhibit like would be seen at a standard science museum, the science of Limmie. For an hour, the two of them learned about all of the unseen forces that were working on their muscles while they played the game. Christine had to wince as she saw a Holo of a player lying on the turf, victim of a leg injury. She remembered her torn MCL in 276 all too well; she didn’t need another reminder.

After leaving that hall, the pair went towards the team displays. They looked through the histories of so many different teams from the ages of the game, the long-ago powerhouses of Adumar and Sabilon, the newer premier teams like Kashyyyk, the disaster that was the Rattatak team, and then they got to the main course. It was the motherlode of information for all the major teams, even so much as to see a Galactic Cup insignia newly added in the Mercs’ case. There wasn’t much there yet for the newer teams, especially Carratos, so that would probably be filled in with time. Older teams like Nar Shaddaa and Bakura had full cases of memorabilia, Holos, story placards, and various other items.

Then they got to the Senator case. They read up on the items in the case, learning of Lysander Perkins, the great Senator captain in the 180s. By the time they got to the next portion of the case, they saw Dirxx Horstse standing there at the glass, his hand on it like it was attached.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Christine asked. The Besalisk looked troubled.

“Nothing,” Dirxx said. “Nothing at all.”

“Oh come on, you can tell us,” Christine said.

All Dirxx did was point to a Holo in the case. Christine and Ava looked into the glass to see a Holo of the victorious 245 Coruscant Senators team. A young Besalisk kneeled down in the front of the shot, a wide grin on his face. Christine then looked to Dirxx. “Is that you?”

“It is,” Dirxx said. “I was one of the ball boys for the 245 team. The one that almost won the Cup that year. Never found out how that one ended.”

When Christine saw what was next in the case, she instantly remembered why the Besalisk looked distraught like this. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, Gamble, its fine,” Dirxx said. “The time to spend crying has passed. All we can do is move on from the things that hurt us the most. Like losing Limmie games.”

“But you lost a hell of a lot more than we have,” Christine said. “Than any of us have.”

“But that’s no reason to not take my advice,” Dirxx said, not even looking in their direction. “Because it can get a lot worse, trust me. So forget a few lost games and move forward. That’s why we’re here. That’s what I learned, and why my bust is here. If you worry about the past too much, it comes back to haunt you. So I moved on as best I could. But whenever I come here, I always have to come back and pay my respects. It’s the right thing to do. I knew all of them, and they all knew me. ‘Dain’s son’, that was me. I miss my old man, I really do. But we can’t go back in time and make things change. We can only move forward.”

“You really think we can win this year? It’s going to take a while to rebuild this thing,” Ava chimed in.

“Depends on how badly you want to win,” Dirxx commented. He placed his meaty right hand on the case one last time and then walked away.

“That guy’s intense,” Ava said.

“But he’s got a good point. Look at him, he’s a Hall-of-Famer. He’s lost so much more than we have.”

“I lost my brother, Christine,” Ava reminded her roommate. “I know exactly how he feels. If I could do anything to bring Barney back from the dead, I would.”

Christine looked into the glass case one more time at the smiling Besalisk youth. He seemed so innocent at the time, obviously to be rocked by tragedy later on in life. Her roommate had gone through the same thing, so what was her own excuse? She had gotten injured a few times, and had been pestered by the media, yes. But she had no excuses, not now. It was her job to get the team back to prominence.

“Let’s go,” she said, taking her eyes off the case. “I think it’s best if we keep moving.”

Throughout the rest of the trip, Christine couldn’t stop thinking of young Dirxx. Looking at his bust in the Hall of busts, she was reminded that hard work and grit got players here, not whining about the past. If he could get here, so could she. It all started with the right opportunity, one she knew she had in the palm of her hand right now. There was new leadership on the team, so now was the time for her to step up. Dirxx had done that when Gark S’rily took over the team, so why couldn’t she as captain with Briar Thorne as the new GM?

When they left the museum that night, Ava had a question to ask. “You think you got some stuff from that tour?”

“More than you could ever understand,” Christine said, not even looking at Ava as she spoke. There was a lot to absorb there, a lot to digest. And she would have to process it all, because that was what winners did. They won in all facets of life, no matter the amount of energy required. That was true greatness.

---

Friendly vs. Empress Teta

The friendly went smoothly, a surprise to say the least. The Senators, despite playing their reserves for heavy minutes to give them a look, dominated the Pikemen in all facets of the game. The offense racked up 37 on an overwhelmed Pikemen defense, the defense surrendered only 16 (with many coming in garbage time against the Senator reserves), and the midfielders pushing their counterparts around. Christine knew as well as anyone else that this game would have been a whole lot harder if they had gone up against an Elite League team, so there wasn’t a lot to draw from this one as far as the final score. They had won, yes, but it didn’t mean much. The development gained and displayed here, that was the main point of the game.

She had done her job in the first half, teaming up with former Smuggler Zen Keisel to lock down the Pikemen corner forwards. That pushed the Pikemen attack into the middle, where the half backs did their job. A rotation of backs came in, the starting unit of Meels, Meter, and Mettews looking good at times before the opposition substituted and Peet Carelle countered by putting in his “Jumbo” package. This necessitated Meter leaving the game, sometimes along with Mettews, and putting in Munster and Chestnut Reeser off the bench. The size advantage afforded them with the three large half backs was enough to give their opponents pause, but it was obvious that more work would need to be done to figure out how that rotation would work in the regular season.

Christine and her fellow starters didn’t play much in the second half with the game pretty much out of reach already at 22-5. She spent that time watching the backup corner backs, seeing what she needed to work on, and what they needed help on. Rickard Herman, the veteran, looked good, but his physical play racked him up two fouls, and Kelly Vurgess, the young Hapan defender, was being overwhelmed. It didn’t help that Cannon Mallonn, the Herglic, wasn’t doing much at full or corner back. But this was their first major action, so Christine hoped the coaches would go over the game footage with them after this one and help them figure out how to improve. Because she and Keisel couldn’t be out there all the time, even though the coaches were being implored to play their starters more minutes than under the S’rily regime. Herman, Vurgess, and Mallonn all had to learn their roles and settle in, or else it would be a rocky situation should either starter need a rest of get injured and miss time. The half backs looked better, although it was obvious that Munster, Reeser, and Mulhollan, the former Lightning player, all needed more reps. Two of them were rookies, with Munster likely getting the first rotational spot if he kept up his camp performance. Mulhollan would be the glue, the experienced player off the bench, and Reeser would probably see only spot duty on the Jumbo package and maybe a minute here or there. The young Selonian had potential, but still needed to learn the finer points of the position at this level.

On offense, it was obvious that there was scoring talent on the roster. Leia Adama took on double teams as usual, so when she passed the ball around, the Pikemen paid the price for their defense on her. Becki Morlan netted two goals in the first half, Anya Amasova had three bar points, and first overall pick, Zuzu Nuun, despite three early turnovers on bad passes and a ball that inexplicably bounced off her foot out of bounds, did enough to prove that she was learning from the coaching staff. She still had a lot to learn, though, so Christine wasn’t sure if the rookie had a starting spot locked up, or if a more experienced player like Laura Cellen would get the nod instead. But that wasn’t Christine’s battle. She had her spot locked up, and that was the most important thing.

---

IC: Briar Thorne

Briar watched with satisfaction as her team systematically dismantled the Pikemen in front of their home crowd. She knew that this was just one game, but that it meant this team had talent. Now they needed to show that same drive going into the season.

“We may not be a playoff-caliber team this year, but there is indeed talent there,” Tela Loni commented.

“Indeed,” Briar replied. “We have the potential to turn a few heads this year. Give it another season or two, and we might be in the playoff discussion. No guarantees, but I think we have a chance.”

“Already writing this season off?”

“Just being realistic,” Briar said. “Rebuilding takes years to complete. We’re just beginning.”

“She’s right,” Aebatt Zargana chipped in. “Rebuilding the Storm took a lot of time.”

“And that all starts somewhere. From what I’m seeing, there’s a lot of room to improve. Half backs need a lot of work . . . all the defenders do . . . and Nuun looks lost out there . . . but on the overall a very good showing,” Briar commented as the game came to a close. “A good first showing. Now they need to do that during the season when all the chips are down.”


Even though Briar Thorne was a winner in her first game as GM, she wasn’t going to dwell on the victory. No, she would make sure the inconsistencies got ironed out. She had a lot riding on this franchise, and it was in her best interest to get them back to relevancy. They were a laughingstock now, so it was time to surprise people. Now was their chance to build a foundation for the future.

TAG: No One

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Coruscant Senators sign Perdita Mowler (Cathar, Female, Corner Forward), Hyde Los (Human, Male, Forward), assign both to Thyferra (LFL)

TAG: Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Alana Glencross
Shuttle on approach to Bespin



“There it is,” Alana said, “I used to play there.”

She was pointing out the viewport of the Miners’ team shuttle, which was on approach to Bespin. The comment was made for the benefit of her three year old son, Olivar. Because the game was a friendly, the Miners had announced that families and significant others would be welcome for the trip to Cloud City, a nice cap to training camp and a perk for the team. After all, it was supposed to be a loose game for the team, a warmup for the season. Having the support network of a family helped, especially for younger players. For Alana, it meant a rare opportunity to share this part of her life with her husband and son.

Olivar was sitting on Alana’s lap and looking at the steadily growing peach orb that was Bespin. She ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it. Maybe he’d be old enough to remember something of this later in life.

She looked over at her husband Niall. This was going to be one of the few road games that he could make. 280 was a general election year on Bakura and his work with the Federal Election Commission was going to keep him busy. There were pre-election filings, campaign finance updates, election day observations and certifications...it was no cupcake job, especially when the Bakuran Senate was a 41-39 split. Both parties were going to make a major push for control of the Senate and already nonprofit watchdogs were seeing big money moving in campaign contributions, even with the planet’s campaign finance caps.

Alana wanted Niall to be at every game this season, but this was just a busy time for him at work. She’d already asked if there was some way that he could make it to the road games, knowing that there wasn’t. Niall had promised he’d try, but he wasn’t sure.

“Why did you play here?” Olivar asked.

“Because they thought I had to get better before I could play on Bakura,” Alana said, turning back to her son.

“So you were bad?”

“Just not as good,” Alana said, “but I got better.”

“And then you won.” They had established the concept that winning was good and Mom liked winning.

“I did.”

“Did you win a lot?”

“A very lot.”

“Are you going to win this season?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll see.”

“Did you win here?”

“Sometimes. More than I lost,” Alana said.

“More than I did, kid,” Niskat said, passing by. Everyone on the team knew Olivar after three seasons. The single players, especially the women, liked to say hello. When he’d been younger he had been held a lot by Miners. “I didn’t make the playoffs, but your Mom did.”

“Did you win?” Olivar asked Alana.

“A couple times,” Alana said. But Ryi Kor’le won more, she thought, Just like she did last year. Though Alana had three championships to her name while Ryi had a Premiership and a Galactic Cup, she still couldn’t bring herself to be pleased that Kor’le had won a Cup, even if she’d beaten that Mercs team handily just three weeks before. If anything, that made her more unhappy.

Though not as unhappy as Lizbit Comstock appeared to be. Alana hadn’t gotten to training camp before Comstock, but she’d heard that the moment that the goalkeeper had arrived at Hi’lo she’d gone straight to Valerii in a private meeting. Whatever it was had been big and had involved bringing in both Cundertol and Falene (who had stood in for her absent aunt). There were rumors floating--as rumors do--that the powwow had something to do with this trip, but nobody was saying anything. Alana believed the rumors because there was significantly more security accompanying the Miners on this trip. They’d been told it was nothing to worry about, but Alana had been with the team the longest of anyone on the roster. She knew that private security was not something that they just hired for the heck of it. If Ponie was still with the team, Alana would have asked her what was up. She and Lizbit were extremely close and still were. Surely the Vertical City native would know why her friend was on edge in advance of her homecoming.

And yet the team had all been encouraged to bring their families. How bad could it be?

---

The shuttle had landed in one of the classic afternoon sunsets of Cloud City, throwing oranges, reds, and purples all over the clouds. The descent had been typically gorgeous and Alana had enjoyed sharing it with Olivar, who was enraptured by how pretty everything looked. When Cloud City itself came into view, he’d been transfixed. Despite the fact that even this short trip brought some travel fatigue, her son was eager to get off the shuttle and start exploring a new world.

Alana kept an eye on the security, which was forming a not-so subtle ring around Comstock. The captain hesitated. If there was going to be trouble, she didn’t want to lead her family into the thick of it. But she was the captain of the team. She wasn’t supposed to just lead on the field, she was supposed to lead off it too. She wasn’t sure how to juggle the two priorities.

“All right, let’s go everyone,” Valerii said, “Let’s get into our rooms. Skip the autograph line this time around, we’ll have events for that later.” Alana had an instinct the announcement, casual though it might be, was part of a prearranged plan. Sure enough, as the team started moving, Lizbit and her protectors were staying behind. Apparently they wanted the rest of the team off before they started moving. Alana decided to trust in whatever arrangements the team had clearly made and she gently prodded her husband forward while she restrained her son from running off to Force knew where. With her luck her son would befriend some Ugnaughts and get himself dismembered.

As Alana came down the ramp, she was greeted by a big cheer. There was a cordoned off area near the landing pad for fans and there were clearly a lot of them. The white and red Sky Captain jerseys were dotted with dark blue and gold. It seemed the the successes of the Cloud City alumni had caused some fans to follow them in the Elite League too. Alana waved at the welcoming back and smiled. This was it, this was where she’d played her first professional limmie. Though it had been over a decade since she’d last put on a Sky Captains jersey, the homecoming was as warm as if she’d never left.

“Looks like they remember you,” Niall said to her.

“You know me, I’m a hard being to forget,” Alana said out of the corner of her smile.

“You have that way about you,” he admitted.

There was another cheer for Niskat when she appeared, another former Sky Captain. As was usual, Deenever indulged the crowd.

Just before Alana stepped inside the hotel, she heard something much different.

“The Lamb! The Lamb! The Lamb!”

She looked over her shoulder and divined that the chanting was a response to the goalkeeper’s sudden appearance.

---

“I owe all of you an explanation,” Lizbit said.

The team had gathered in a hotel conference room that had been set aside for their use in keeping with their standard road game routine. Later it would be used for dinner with their friends and families and after that for reviewing footage of the Sky Captains in action to prepare for the game. This meeting, however, had not been on the schedule.

“As a couple of you know, I never expected I was going to leave Cloud City. Being selected in the Draft changed my life,” Lizbit said, “I escaped. I don’t mean I left a place I didn’t want to be. I got out of a situation where I was a prisoner. My entire life had been determined for me. The truth is that it was only the fact that my draft agreement legally required me to leave Bespin that allowed me to get out.

“There’s something that I can’t dance around. I just have to say it.” She took a deep breath. “My father is the leader of a cult.”

Alana wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react to that. A cult? What did that even mean? Alana knew what a cult was, of course. Luckily, she didn’t have to think long as Lizbit continued.

“He came to Cloud City with his followers before my birth and set up what he believed to be a utopia in one of the sections of the city, which he now calls Columbia. He purchased entire blocks and levels and sealed it off from the Baron Administrator’s authority because it is considered ‘private property,’ further protected by religious freedom laws--laws that my father makes a mockery of. Though visitors are shown a polished facade, please believe me when I say that it is anything but. His so-called religion--which doesn’t deserve the dignity of the title--is...well, I won’t go into it.

“My father is the prophet of the religion. His word is accepted as law by his followers and enforced as such on anyone who lives in Columbia. And one of his ‘prophecies’ deals with me.

“‘The seed of the prophet shall sit the throne and drown in flame the Mountains of Man.’”

Alana felt a sudden tug inside her gut. Those words...they were familiar.

“I’ve heard that before,” Nelly Wizmark said.

“More likely seen it. Sometimes some wayward devotee of my father shows up at a game with a sign that says that,” Lizbit admitted, “Some of them come and go from Columbia--the true believers he knows will return even if they’ve been tempted by freedom--but mostly they stay on Cloud City. They believe this to be their paradise, the destiny of the galaxy.”

“He and Palpatine would have gotten along great,” Gary Zonka mumbled, “No offense...I mean…”

“Don’t apologize. I hate my father. I hated that he wanted me to carry forward this insanity. I was watched my entire childhood, groomed to be the next prophet, to be the one that brought his vision to the galaxy...by any means necessary. That’s what that prophecy means. I think it’s pretty clear even to you that he believed not in the power of ideals to convert, but the power of the sword.

“Never one to miss an opportunity to demonstrate Columbia’s superiority to the galaxy, a ‘university’ of sorts was created, my alma mater, Columbia College of Cloud City. The education I received there is woefully lacking compared to what you get at a Bak10, Super 16 school, or any respectable institution of learning. The fact that it is classed as a GCAA Division II school is only the result of extensive bribes and corruption, though nothing has ever been proven. When I exhibited a talent for limmie, my father saw another opportunity to contribute towards the myth he wanted to cultivate about me. He dictated that I would play for the team as part of my ‘education’ and instructed that I automatically be made captain. When we traveled for road games, we were always carefully watched to ensure no one fled, me most of all.

“When I graduated, I begged my father to let me declare for the Draft. I said that if I got selected, it would show the galaxy the glory of Columbia. If I didn’t, then I would submit to his plans for me. We both knew that there was no hope I’d be taken and I knew that my father would use such a snub to further his rage against the rest of the galaxy. But I knew it was my only chance of escape.”

She looked at the back of the room. “What I didn’t know was that the Mercs and the Monarchs were going to take the two best goalkeepers in the 275 Draft. I didn’t know that Quinn Cundertol had some footage of me--footage that when he had his only two goalkeeping prospects gone he would remember and use to select me.” Alana twisted around and saw that she had been looking at the Eriaduan.

“I owe this team everything. You will never know what it has meant to me to make a home--a real home--the first I’ve ever had, on Bakura. But when I heard that we were coming here to play, I freaked out. I told Coach that I wasn’t coming, that I didn’t care what happened, but that I was never going back. I was ready to quit the team, retire, walk away from my contract. But Coach and Falene reminded me how much you all relied on me, how important I was to you, to the team. They promised me I’d be protected, which is why you’ve probably noticed my new best friends in the back there.” Everyone turned to look at the security near the door. “You all know that I’ve played in some big games in my career. But this might be the hardest game I ever play in. I’m going to need all of you to get me through this one.”

Without hesitating, Alana stood up, “You’ve backstopped us, Lizbit. Now it’s our turn.”

“We’ve got you,” Jolla Pic said as she stood.

“What she said,” rookie Syedna Moole added as he stood.

It had taken only about ten seconds, but they were all standing now. The ways of the galaxy were funny, but all of a sudden the Miners had come together as a team, tighter knit than anything they’d gone through in training camp had done for them.

---

Calrissian Coliseum, Cloud City, Bespin



This was not the first time that Alana had been back in Cloud City. She’d been here for the HSN 270 All-Star Game, her first all-star game, during the officials strike. At least this time she didn’t look like a popsicle. She still shuddered at the memory of the orange Gundarkade jerseys. Thank heavens she’d exchanged jerseys with Meredith Chambers (no -Vayne back then) after the game. The SoroSuub jerseys had been so much better looking.

This visit was different. It was the first stop on what everyone was now calling (but what Alana had never actually called) the Farewell Tour. It was coming back to where her pro career had begun. The Stadium in the Sky. The Coliseum in the Clouds. This was where it had all started. And this is where the end started too. For the first time Alana would come out of a tunnel and onto a field with the suddenly imperative knowledge that there would only be so many more moments like this, only so many more games to play. Already the thought constricted her chest just a bit. But there was still a season ahead of her, one more season, one more shot.

As Alana walked down the tunnel towards the bright field, she ran one hand along the smooth white and red permacrete wall of the tunnel. Just the tips of her fingers touched it in a lazy, idle drag. But there was nothing lazy about the way she burst out of the tunnel at a run. It was a classic, energy-filled storming of the field the way the Miners did it. Even though they were the road team the Miners were greeted with a roar of approval.

When the teams were lined up awaiting the anthems, the public address announcer boomed: “The Sky Captains organization is always proud to welcome back former members, especially those who have distinguished themselves. Our motto is ‘Keep Flying,’ and today we are joined by two former Sky Girls who have soared to new heights. Flyboys and Sky Girls, please join the Sky Captains in welcoming back Galactic Cup champions Niskat Deenever and Alana Glencross!”

The two had conveniently stood next to each other in today’s line up and they gave a wave each to the crowd to acknowledge the standing ovation. The Sky Captains’ chances of the making the Elite League weren’t very good. Having alumna who won the Galactic Cup was the closest that they would likely ever get to that honor.

“You know what we should totally do?” Alana said, leaning over to Niskat.

“Yes, I totally do,” Niskat replied.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

They each gave the Sky High Salute, the Captains’ traditional celebratory gesture to the crowd. The throwback to their playing days here was clearly appreciated by the fans. Alana just smiled. Yeah, I’ve had some good times here, she thought.

---

All. Frigging. Game.

Alana hadn’t had to put up with them for more than two halves and she wanted to get off Cloud City. Heaven knew how Lizbit had put up with it for 22 years.

The return of their supposed “lamb” had lured the Columbian faithful from their enclave and into Calrissian Coliseum. They had signs with their prophecy on it or ones just reading “COMSTOCK” in big letters. Thankfully over a decade of road games had provided Alana with the ability to turn the stands into a giant blur of white noise and light, allowing her to focus on the game. Every so often at a break in play, especially if Lizbit made a stop, they broke through her wall of concentration and it annoyed her.

It didn’t help that Lizbit made a lot of stops today. Helped by a solid defensive effort that was keeping the Sky Captains high in the zone, causing their bar points to go wide more often than not, there was only one goal by the Bespin side. Lizbit was on fire today. In fact, it seemed like she was playing angry. The more shots that she stopped, the more the crowd cheered and the angrier Lizbit seemed to get. It was, if Alana remembered her biology courses correctly, a classic positive feedback loop. This was how planets got destroyed by climate change and if this kept going she wasn’t sure that Cloud City was going to survive Lizbit.

The Miners kept the ball down in the Cloud City end for a lot of the game, which helped relieve Lizbit from coming apart at the seams by keeping her (or the defense) from having to make too many stops. Despite the presence of former ELL all-star Jerek Deter now leading the Sky Captains, the Miner offensive onslaught was just that. Everybody was getting into the act, Alana included. She took the opportunity to push the attack and put up two goals on the day, plus three bar points for a shiny 9 points. The cheers after she scored were louder than a typical road game (well, if you didn’t count the booing at most ELL stadiums), which told Alana that even though the Miners were dismantling the Sky Captains right in front of them, the fans here still liked her.

Man, it was nice to be liked some place other than Bakura.

It was a fun game to play and the Miners had known pretty much from the start that was how it was going to be. Unlike other friendly, non-ELL matches they’d played, they had started loose and kept the mellow going. The talent gap was too unbridgeable for the Sky Captains today, so the Miners had sat back and had some fun. They didn’t break out the quirky trick plays because against a team like this it would have been mean. What they had done was laid off a little bit--a hard thing to do when you were wired to be 100% competitive every time you took the field--after the first time out when Valerii had told them to work on fundamentals.

“I’m watching all of you. Every stupid decision you make is coming back to haunt you in practice. Trust me,” Valerii had warned them, “This is a time to build good habits, solid fundamentals. Take the extra second to make the smart play.”

Alana knew it was good advice. Instill the right habits now and they’d carry through when it counted. Practice right, play right. This was more than practice, of course. This was just what a preseason warmup should be--knowing you’re going to get hit but still having the time to make the right play, getting that combination working together again after an offseason.

Some of the Captains were hitting harder than they had to. Alana understood and didn’t blame the Sky Captains for being miffed that they were being shown up in their own house by the big time ELL club. It was a recipe for trouble. Though Alana had an extra moment to make the right play, she knew that one second after she made it the hit was coming. A few times players growled comments clearly intended to get under her skin and start something. She would have done the same thing. Get an opponent riled up, get them to throw a punch or use the wrong combination of sounds in the hearing of the ref, and you take out an ELL all-star for the game. Might not win you the game, but you’d sure feel good that you’d gotten one of the opposition out of the game, maybe even bring a suspension down for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Alana didn’t bite. That was a young player’s game. Every time she just smiled and kept playing.

When the game was over, a 40-6 rout, they did the handshake line as if it had been a playoff game. Every one of the Captains shook Alana’s hand and gave her a “good game.” Alana did the same, wished them the best for their season, hoped they went all the way to the Premiership. She knew after a game like that it was hard to wish your opponents well, but they were all classy and did it just the same.

“Got me again, Red,” Jerek Deter said, pausing with Alana.

“Maybe we’re even now?” Alana suggested.

“Not a chance,” Deter said with a smile.

“We miss you up there.”

“Life’s not so bad here, except when big clubs like you pick on someone our size.”

“Just helping the comeback story for when you win the Premiership,” Alana said with a wink.

As Alana left the field, the fans roused themselves for one more ovation for the former Sky Girl. Alana raised her hands over her head as she walked to clap, her final show of appreciation for the Cloud Citizens that had cheered for her in her first pro season and now once again in her last.

She was going to miss them after she was gone, after she’d gone away.

TAG: Bardan_Jusik Jedi Gunny

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Elite League announces Commissioner's schedule for 280 season
  • Week 1: Chandrila Patriots at Mando’ade Mercs
  • Week 2: Hapes Consortium Buccaneers at Kashyyyk Rangers
  • Week 3: Ylesia Lightning at Ralltiir Starkillers
  • Week 4: Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Coruscant Senators
  • Week 5: Bakura Miners at Rydonni Prime Monarchs
  • Week 6: Chandrila Patriots at Hapes Consortium Buccaneers
  • Week 7: Carratos Pirates at Ylesia Lightning
  • Week 8: Coruscant Senators at Carratos Pirates
  • Week 9: Bakura Miners at Nar Shaddaa Smugglers
  • Week 10: Ralltiir Starkillers at Chandrila Patriots
  • Week 11: Mando’ade Mercs at Hapes Consortium Buccaneers

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

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Rydonni Prime sweeps traditional slate of preseason games with single digit margins of victory
  • The Civil War: Loronar Colonials at Rydonni Prime Monarchs, Monarchs Stadium (13-20)
  • The Fight: Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Byblos Red Wings, Adrimar Arena (27-22)
  • The Match: Balmorra Blasters at Rydonni Prime Monarchs, Monarchs Stadium (0-5)
• HSN analyst: "The Monarchs are clearly a favorite going into 280 to return to the Final after three solid wins."

TAG: CPL_Macja

 

IC: Briar Thorne
Senators HQ, Week Left in Camp

There was a week left of training camp, and for the most part, Briar was keeping busy watching the development of her young squad. There was a lot of improvement in the young players, and the veterans were doing what they could to bring things along. The Thyferra players were also looking good, some of them given incentive to try extra hard in case they could crack the Elite League roster. Harper Rice, the undrafted rookie from UB Salis D’aar was one such player, gunning for the last corner forward spot with established Thyferra veteran Orrin Calcutt. The Kiffar, brought over in the Demetra Silkins-to-Alsakan deal, was trying to hold on for dear life to the spot, but the rookie wasn’t going to make it easy on him. Even Silkins herself, signed in free agency from the Flyers and assigned to the Force, was pushing to regain an Elite League spot. She was easily beating out her Force competition and was breathing down the neck of George Wulson for that fourth midfielder spot. Competitions abounded amongst the Senator players, but a few Force players had a chance to make the big club. That was exactly how Briar wanted it.

But there was one thing she didn’t like about her team as it was coming together. A few of the veterans were unsure of where they stood with the club, caught between a rebuild and youth movement yet still being afforded a chance to start. Players like Mulhollan and Becki Morlan were fine where they were, happy to still be in the Elite League and taking whatever playing time they were afforded. The Gran especially was happy to be here after being out of the league for a year with a lower-level team, and Morlan seemed interested in contract security and was comfortable with Briar in the front office. But sources in the clubhouse seemed to indicate that Lycar Naughten was unhappy. The Shistavanen full forward, playing half forward now, was unsure of where he stood on the team, and it was bringing down his performance. With the excellent play of half forward prospect Loryyk Fey’limm behind him, Naughten’s deficiencies were starting to manifest themselves. He was a pure scorer, but his shooting percentage was low. In the Empress Teta win, he hadn’t scored, taking five shots on goal and not coming close on four of them. He was taking bad shots, and was trying to push his luck in spots where it would have been advised to pass the ball. It was like he wanted to be a full forward, a starting full forward, and he wouldn’t take any other spot, even a starting half forward position. The numbers didn’t lie; he wasn’t doing well, and wasn’t cut out for this system.

So the question was what to do with him. If he stayed, they would have a pure scoring threat available to them, but his lack of real skills beyond being a bench player was limiting him. He had made it known that he would ask for a trade if he wasn’t going to be a starter, and with Fey’limm coming on strong to fight for that position, Briar was stuck in a hard place. If Naughten was willing to be a reserve, then he’d be fine. His skills would be well-suited for a forward coming off the bench who could try to spark a sputtering offense or give the opposition something to think about. But his attitude, plus his cold shooting performance, and with young players wanting that roster spot, his time was short if he didn’t shape up.

And Briar knew he wouldn’t. She had taken a gamble with him, and it hadn’t worked out well at all. She had to do something before the whole thing came crumbling down. So she picked up the communicator and started to work the circuit, trying to see if someone would bite on the embittered forward. The Elite League had no takers, she knew, so she tried the Premier League. Call after call went unsuccessfully, taking her from Cloud City to Adumar to Sabilon. None of them were interested in a flawed full forward who demanded higher pay than he was really worth. Vandelhelm had a creaky Phil Brooks available, but his temper had doomed him from the start. Briar wanted nothing to do with that head case, and thus kept moving on. Naboo wasn’t going to offer much, and Briar passed on the offer immediately. She wasn’t looking for a lot in return, but she at least wanted to get a player or two back who could be marginally useful. Even if it was at the Futures League level, having a return of any sort would be nice. Mon Calamari didn’t want him, nor did Balmorra, Briar figured, or Kuat.

So she was running out of options here. She could cut the troublesome forward, but that would hurt the team’s salary due to the financial penalty for waiving a player under contract. She wanted to trade the man, but it would be hard to find a trade partner willing to take him on while still offering something in return. So she turned to the scouting reports Tela had given her. There wasn’t much out there she could try and coax out, but if she looked hard enough, there was probably something there to look for.

Finally, she took the next offer she heard. Naughten was thus shipped off to Kessel (which was good riddance in Briar’s mind) for two players, and Briar immediately called their agents to say that they were not suiting up for the Senators. Instead, she shopped them around, finding a bite with Kothlis to bring in a half back, and a deal with the other former Kessel player plus former Senator Alex Renhorn, who hadn’t really cut it and would be shipped out, in addition to longtime Force forward Caleeny Worgo, who had shown a lot of progress but was stuck behind depth, to Naboo in exchange for a half forward Briar really liked. The two would be coming in within the week, she knew, and she hung up the communicator in time to catch a knock at her door.

“Come in,” she said.

Tela Loni walked in. “I’ve been told you traded Naughten.”

“So I have,” Briar said. “He was a cancer on the roster. I had to cut him before he infected anything else.”

“What did we get in return?” Tela asked hopefully.

“A young half back, or at least defensive back, from Kothlis named Virgo Grey’bis. He’s Bothan, obviously. He will start the season on the Force.”

“Name seems familiar. Someone must have scouted him,” Tela said.

“But I’m not done,” Briar said. “In exchange for the older Renhorn, Worgo, and a Kessel player who I had control of for about ten minutes . . . so, basically a bunch of bench fodder . . . we were able to get the big one from Naboo.”

“You didn’t,” Tela said after a momentary pause.

“I did,” Briar said with a sly smile on her face.

Tela returned the smile. “I don’t know how you do it, Briar, but you amaze me with your talents.”

“It’s what Quinn taught me, be smart in your personnel decisions, and judicious about what you’re willing to move in order to make a shrewd trade.” A name and bio popped up on the screen. Natasha Ehlers, a rather lithe human female forward, came to the fore.



“Given that I just stole her from Naboo, literally, I think we ought to celebrate.”

“I’d hate to see what else you’ve done,” Tela said, sitting down in the chair opposite Briar’s desk.

“I could pull off many other trades, but at some point I need the young players to be developed properly. That means using the veterans we have to get them ready for the big time, and then help build around our core stars like Gamble and Adama. If I received ten credits for every time someone brought up me trading Gamble, I’d be a millionaire on that alone,” Briar said. “Unless a great deal knocks my socks off, she’s off the table. We need a leader, Tela. Someone who can whip these rookies into shape.”

“Are you sure Gamble’s the right one for that, Briar?” Tela asked. “Her numbers have gone down since she became captain. Perhaps it’s time to change the guard on that and let her play her game without all the distractions?”

“But who would I give it to?” Briar asked. “Romax apparently was a wreck when she left, and was a terrible captain. Just because you’re experienced doesn’t mean you have an ounce of leadership potential in you. Romax doesn’t have that, nor does Morlan. As much as I like her game, I need someone who will be around for a while. Morlan may not be around beyond this year if all things go well.”

“But Gamble is a risky play,” Tela commented.

“She may be the only play we’ve got,” Briar said. “Now, I need you to inform the traded players that they are going to pack their bags and catch the next shuttle out of here.”

“I think Naughten will take it pretty well. Where’d you trade him to?”

“Kessel.”

“Lovely place to vacation, I’ve heard,” Tela said, a sense of sarcasm in her voice.

“It’s where someone like him belongs, stuck up, arrogant, and a rather streaky player with no real skills to keep himself on this ballclub. I need options, Tela, not one-dimensional players, and he didn’t meet my expectations. Consider it me sending a message to the franchise and to the galaxy that I’m not willing to put up with rogue players. Suit up and play or be shipped out. That’s how Quinn worked, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Then a loud scream could be heard, jolting both women. Tela opened the door, closely followed by Briar. They went out into practice facility, where they could see a crowd of players standing in a small area. The two of them rushed forward to see what was going on, and when they found out, it wasn’t good. Rickard Herman was lying on the ground, clutching his arm. The bone protruded through the skin, and his arm looked mangled. He was yelling bloody murder, and finally Tama Wor, the Carosite team doctor got to the Korun corner back’s side. Immediately the diminutive doctor called for a stretcher. “We need to get him to the hospital. That’s it for his season,” Wor said.

It took a good ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive, and then Rickard was loaded into it and taken off to the hospital to get further evaluation. But Briar knew that she was now down a reserve corner back. “Frak,” she said to herself as she stalked back to her office, Tela close on her heels.

When she got to her office, she sat down and sighed. “Now we need a new corner.”

“Should we give the spot to Cherf?”

“She’s been OK in camp, but not spectacular. From what I heard last year, she was ineffective, but then they found out that she was knocked up, and . . . that wasn’t a very good barometer of her skill. But I don’t think she has it, at least not yet. We might have to find a FA fix if we’re not hit in the face by an amazing talent,” Briar said. “How’s Welnlseh?”

“Not good. He’s probably a Futures League lifer.”

“What I figured. We need someone to fill in . . .” Briar said to herself.

“Cancho?”

“Not good enough.”

“Vanton?”

“More of a full back.”

“Then we’re pretty much out of options for a reserve,” Tela said. “Unless we bring someone in, and I don’t think that’s wise given how little time we really have before the season. Ward got picked up by Nar Shaddaa, and I think he was the only one who had a real shot there.”

“Wait . . .” Briar said, sitting up straight. “We may have an option after all.”

She picked up the comlink and dialed it in a single motion, seemingly, and put in her call. Her subject didn’t take long to pick up.

“Hello?” asked Sutton Millard, third-round pick of the Miners in 277.

“Sutton, this is Briar Thorne, from the Coruscant Senators. I was the assistant GM on Bakura the last three years.”

“Yeah, I know,” Millard said.

“I’m in need of a corner right now, and I think you could fill that need. Have you been keeping in shape this offseason?”

“Enough. Look, Ms. Thorne, I figured I wouldn’t be signed, and no one came calling, so I kinda traded my Limmie unis in for a business jacket and skirt . . .”

“Want a payday and a return to the league?”

“Of course. I’ve done what I can to stay in shape, just in case someone called. But I like this job I’m doing right now. It’s what I went to college for . . .”

“What, filing paperwork? Sutton, we both know you’re much more than just an office slave. You got drafted; that should be enough to prove your worth. If I offer you a minimum contract, will you take it for this year?”

“I’ll sign. You need me to report to camp?”

“Sounds like you’ll need a crash course on the team’s defensive schemes.”

“I can generally learn real fast,” Sutton said.

“Good. I’ll get you signed on, and then it’s your job to get here and get learning,” Briar said before hanging up. “Just got a verbal commitment from Sutton Millard. We’ve got ourselves a proven corner.”

“Honestly, how do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Sweet-talking other teams and players into wanting to join?”

“It’s a skill you need to do this job. Now, if I’m not mistaken, we have a few roster moves to process,” Briar said. She called up her secretary and sent the roster moves in to the league through her intermediary. When all that was done, she sat back in her chair. “You know, I’m starting to like this job.”

“If you lose a lot of games, then the fans won’t like you much,” Tela warned.

“It’s a rebuilding project. If they expect instant results, then they’re in the wrong business,” Briar said curtly. “And they’re not my problem. I’m building my team, and that’s that, as far as I’m concerned.”


TAG: No One

 

Sub-GM Post/IC: Marius Turnell
Two months before the start of the 280 Elite League season

“Greetings, and welcome to the eighth edition of the Limmie Futures League. I have a busy day, so I'm going to get straight to the point. With the issues on Garqi and the Smugglers cutting ties with Druckenwell, the LFL has been reduced to six teams, we made some inquiries with a few Elite League organizations about possibly setting up an LFL squad, but none were willing to do so. Therefore, the LFL will consist of just six teams for the 280 season.

“As a result of this, we will once again drop conferences. The regular-season schedule will consist of a simple double round robin, with each team playing every other team once on each home field. Again, all teams will advance to the playoffs, with the top two teams receiving byes to the semifinals. Because this results in a season one week shorter than the Elite League season, the LFL season will therefore begin concurrent with Week 2 of the Elite League season.

“I believe that's it, as there are no rule changes to discuss, so at this time I will conclude this press conference by transmitting the season schedule to you. I regret that I do not have time for questions today. Thank you.”

---

280 Limmie Futures League Schedule

Week 1
Eriadu Thunder at Byblos Red Wings
Concordia Crusaders at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Gallinore Firedrakes at Thyferra Force

Week 2
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Eriadu Thunder
Concordia Crusaders at Gallinore Firedrakes
Thyferra Force at Byblos Red Wings

Week 3
Eriadu Thunder at Thyferra Force
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Gallinore Firedrakes
Concordia Crusaders at Byblos Red Wings

Week 4
Byblos Red Wings at Thyferra Force
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Concordia Crusaders
Eriadu Thunder at Gallinore Firedrakes

Week 5
Byblos Red Wings at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Gallinore Firedrakes at Concordia Crusaders
Thyferra Force at Eriadu Thunder

Week 6
Gallinore Firedrakes at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Byblos Red Wings at Eriadu Thunder
Thyferra Force at Concordia Crusaders

Week 7
Byblos Red Wings at Gallinore Firedrakes
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Thyferra Force
Eriadu Thunder at Concordia Crusaders

Week 8
Byblos Red Wings at Concordia Crusaders
Thyferra Force at Gallinore Firedrakes
Eriadu Thunder at Tatooine Sandskimmers

Week 9
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Byblos Red Wings
Concordia Crusaders at Thyferra Force
Gallinore Firedrakes at Eriadu Thunder

Week 10
Gallinore Firedrakes at Byblos Red Wings
Concordia Crusaders at Eriadu Thunder
Thyferra Force at Tatooine Sandskimmers

OOC: The 280 LFL season will begin Sunday, March 29.

TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Madelyne Till

I sat in the front row of the owner’s box cradling Louise in my arms. She was wide awake and alert. Her eyes darted wildly as she took in the faces of her relatives. On the first possession of the game Odette gave fans reason to believe in her as the right choice for starting full forward when she scored the first point for the Starkillers. Our veteran defense did not allow for the Sandskimmers to get the ball past midfield. Hovechar made a nice block allowing for Moun to dribble up field and pass to Fortune. Fortune found himself in double coverage, he had no choice but to pass back to Bartholomew. Bat had a wide open shot, he gave the ball a powerful kick towards the ball. It remained low to the ground where Wookiee keeper Teaspoon always had difficulty making stops. This time was no different Bat’s shot was good for 3 points for the Starkillers.

Our defense held again and Fortune was given another chance. This time only one defender was on Fortune. Andres made short work of his opponent and was able to score a goal of his own. The crowd didn’t whoop and holler as much as they had for Bat, but at least they didn’t boo. With a 7-0 early lead Trey called a time out. He pulled the majority of the starters. Noah, Roselli and Shyall were the only defenders to remain in the game. Moun was left in at midfield and on offense Soker and Odette stayed put, everyone else came off the field. Fortune began to argue with his coach the minute he got to the sideline.

For the remainder of the half Fortune sat on the bench with a defiant scowl on his face. I looked on as Bat tried to say something in his direction and Fortune turned the other way. Things didn’t look good, but Trey wasn’t a rookie coach. He would know what to say to Fortune at halftime. Meanwhile on field the Sandskimmers broke through the weaker Starkiller defense for the first time allowing Yolanda and then Billy Bob to score bar points.

Before halftime Trey pulled the remaining starters. The Sandskimmers were slowly fighting their way back into the game. The score was 13 to 11 in favor of the Starkillers when the dance team began their halftime performance. Zoey didn’t look up from her data pad to watch her mother. Ever since Hovechar had left the field she had been engrossed in a program on the device. Georgia got busy changing diapers, Lucie encouraged T.J. to use the fresher and I warmed a bottle for Louise.

Louise drank slowly. So slowly that the Sandskimmer starters had pulled ahead before she finally finished and drifted off to sleep. The Starkillers backup offense was struggling against the Sandkimmers starting line-up. The Sandskimmers were also having continued success on offense. The game was now beginning to turn into a lopsided affair in favor of Tatooine with a score of 19-11. Trey called for time. He gathered his back-up players from the field and he must have said something motivational because the Starkillers immediately got back in the game. They were down by just two points with a minute left in regulation. Tomas stood in his spot on the sideline next to a cart full of Gundarkade. He placed his hands next to his mouth to project his voice and yell words of encouragement at the Starkillers offense. As time ran off the clock the ball was in Gotsburg’s care. She got past two defenders and took a quick look at the goal ahead of her. The shot looked good. Until Teaspoon outstretched her long arm and deflected it back onto the field. The last second ticked off the clock and the Sandskimmers were declared the winners.

The stands began to empty. On field Spencer high fived his team as they came off the field. When the handshake line formed Spencer took the rear. He shook the hands of Stakiller players and coaching staff. When he finished he looked towards Tomas. Tomas was busy handing out cups of Gundarkade with deep frown lines on his face. I looked on as Spencer called out to his little brother and waved him out to midfield. When Tomas got there they exchanged a handshake. I shed a tear.

My family parted ways with the agreement to meet back at my house to attend a farewell dinner for Spencer. There was obvious tension between Andres and everyone else at dinner. When he offered to slice the pies I had made for dessert Bat pretended not to hear him. He grabbed the pies and did the honors himself.

“You think we should call Mandalore and see if they are still willing to make the trade for Fortune?” I asked Trey that night before bed.

“No,” Trey answered. “He’ll come around. We have this battle at the start of every season. It’s just been more intense and more public this season. Maybe I have a plan to help him perform down the stretch when we really need him. If I don’t he refuses to sign next season. He won’t be our problem anymore if that’s the case.”

“Just as long as you think he won’t be hurting our chances against the Pirates on opening day.”

“I got enough to worry about with the Pirates,” Trey grumbled. “They drafted two virtually unknown players that I have almost no play tape to evaluate for. They didn’t play in the pre-season so there’s no tape to evaluate from that. And they are coming off a season in which they held the best record in the league. Fortune follows order this week or he sits out. It’s that simple.”

I knew Trey needed his rest so I kissed him goodnight and headed towards the nursery. Louise would be up several times between now and morning so I had set up a bed in there for myself so I could tend to her without waking Trey.

The next morning Spencer left for Tatooine. He told me not to worry. He told Tomas to call anytime he needed advice or just wanted to talk. After seeing Spencer off I made my way to the stadium. I didn’t want the staff slacking off the week before opening day. The best way to do that was to make my presence known. I wore Louise in a wrap on my chest and walked every level of the concourse. If I saw anything out of place I made a note on my data pad. I discovered more than one insult about Fortune scratched into fresher stalls. Those would need paint before the game. When my walk through was complete I made my way to my office. My body still wasn’t fully healed from having Louise. Not even close. Even when I had my older children when I had been younger my body took months to feel normal again. Louise was sleeping against my chest when I entered my office. I took full advantage. I laid my body out on a sofa along the side wall with my head on the arm rest and promptly fell asleep. Louise stirred an hour later and woke me. After feeding her I began sending notices to the proper supers to get working on the repairs I had noticed needed tending.

A neighbor and friend with a boy Tomas’ age chauffeured him to school and practice. Each night Tomas, Louise and I had dinner together. Trey was at the stadium until late every evening. I only saw him briefly twice all week. He was in good spirits when I saw him. Excited about the upcoming game and season.

On the day before the game over 4 million hand towels, 2.1 orange and 2.1 blue were unloaded from freighters and placed at each entryway to the stadium. Upon entering each fan would be given a towel to twirl as a way to route on the home team. It was an idea I had gotten when watching a documentary of the Starkillers glory days. Fans twirling said towels had led the Starkillers to six Galactic Cup victories. In the spirit of keeping weapons and violence off our planet I printed the words Starkiller Strong on each towel. If the marketing worked they would be known as Strong Towels. At future home games we would sell them to fans who were not at opening day or had misplaced them. Part of the profits would go to programs at local schools to teach our children how to solve problems without violence. Fans loved anything that was free and they loved to cheer on the Starkillers. I was confident the towels would be a success.

Trey surprised me that evening by coming home early. He arrived with a dozen flowers and he immediately wanted me to watch a holo he had downloaded to my data pad. We sat down together at the table as he brought up the holo for me. It was a Starkillers practice from earlier in the week. At first I didn’t really understand then he turned up the volume. He was instructing his players how tackle without using their heads. They had learned to use their shoulders and not only that. In the next sequence Ty Allin was deflecting balls by raising his fist over his head instead of using his head as he had in the past.

“You see Maddie,” he told me when the holo ended. “You aren’t the only one of us who is concerned about toning down violence. It may take a while for us to put these practices into use, but I hope that by the end of the season they are the norm for us.”

I was delighted with this choice of coaching. All my doubts about my decision to marry Trey melted away. I only felt bad now that my body wasn’t ready to show him how much I appreciated him. That would still have to wait a few more weeks.

The following afternoon fans who arrived in the stands early twirled their strong towels during warm-ups. Up in the owners box my grandchildren quickly got in on the act. The dance team took the field twirling strong towels of their own. When the starting line-up was announced every fan was on their feet twirling a strong towel in hand, claw, paw or equivalent. The offense huddled on field as a unit before kick-off. They shook hands and bumped chests as a symbol that they supported each other as they retreated to their positions. Fortune was no exception.

I looked down at Louise. She was sleeping peacefully in the wrap on my chest. “Wish your parents luck,” I whispered anxiously as I tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach.

Tag: galactic-vagabond422

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• The Hapes Consortium Buccaneers reveal the following transactions that have previously taken place:
  • Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson (Hapan, Female, Full Forward) traded to Stewjon Metropolitans in exchange for Ava Azalee (Human, Female, Right Half Forward) and Eri'anya Dinoa (Human, Female, Right Corner Forward)
  • Jill Masterson (Hapan, Female, Right Corner Forward) and Tilly Masterson (Hapan, Female, Left Corner Forward) traded to Naboo Ducks in exchange for Reine Nexray (Human, Female, Right Corner Forward) and Selan Dala (Human, Female, Left Corner Forward)
  • Mary Goodnight (Hapan, Female, Midfielder) and Domino Derval (Hapan, Female, Left Corner Back) traded to Kamino Waves in exchange for Ziven Peoly (Twi'lek, Female, Half Forward), Donith Remwen (Zabrak, Female, Midfielder), and Owen Magnus (Human, Male, Goalkeeper, assigned to Gallinore Firedrakes)
  • Rath Tyrnith (Hapan, Female, Full Back) promoted from Gallinore Firedrakes to C-Bucs reserves
• Teresa "Tracy" di Vincenzo (Hapan, Female, Right Half Forward) unconditionally released from contract by request after expressing "frustration" with changes to roster, specifically the replacement of several Hapans with members of other species
• When questioned about di Vincenzo's release, C-Bucs head coach Leota Avoy said, "I believe that having a more diverse roster, one that takes into account the different strengths and weaknesses of each species, will ultimately help this team push to the next level. I am sorry that Tracy does not feel this way and has chosen to take a bigoted view without considering the larger picture."
• Avoy refuses comment when asked about the C-Bucs' exclusion of male players from their Elite League squad

TAG: jcgoble3

 

280 Season Preview​

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Bakura Miners

279 Record: 7-4 (3-2)

Predicted 280 Finish: 8-3

Cause for Optimism: Everything. The Miners are a team that doesn’t quit. They win games with good Limmie skills, and are always a threat to hang 40 on a team any given day. Their offense hasn’t skipped a beat without Aron Rodders, and Niskat Deenever is a true Salbukk candidate every year. Given how they dismantled Cloud City on Bespin in the friendlies slate, they are well-suited to playing on the road. Goalie Lizbit Comstock should have another great year.

Cause for Concern: Although Cundertol has built a well-oiled machine on Bakura, his constant parts-swapping will eventually fail to pan out. Add in the loss of longtime assistant GM Briar Thorne, and the reshuffling of the Solo Conference powers, and Bakura has a few things, but only a few, to worry about.

Overall: It will be another great season for the Miners as long as they stay healthy. But the injury bug never seems to come knocking for them, so we wouldn’t put our chips on them seeing a lot of Disabled List time. Look for them to contend in the Solo Conference as they do every year.

Impact Player: Alana Glencross. She's long been the force that's put the Miners over the edge when they've done well. The question is whether she's still got what it takes in her 15th year in pro Limmie.


Carratos Pirates

279 Record: 9-2 (5-0)

Predicted 280 Finish: 6-5

Cause for Optimism: This team is young and talented, and now they know how to win. Reigning Salbukk winner Logan Manx is a great option up front, and the rest of his teammates know how to find him. Their half back line of Sandin, Gwy’nedd, and Ternardiel is easily one of the best, if not the best, half back trios in the league.

Cause for Concern: Their breakout season has given other teams in the league plenty of video to watch to learn how to stop the Pirates. The ‘All In’ strategy is a very risky play, and teams that can learn how to exploit it (like the Mercs in the playoffs) can cause the Pirates fits unless they adjust. Wonder teams like this rarely continue their torrid success the next season, and we’re asking if a poor Draft will come back to haunt this team.

Overall: Carratos should be in the mix in the Skywalker this year if they come out with something to prove as a team. They’ve already reached the top of the standings, so the bright lights obviously don’t faze them anymore. But if they can handle the additional pressure is the real question for this season.

Impact Player: Logan Manx. The Salbukk and Comeback player of the Year winner is still in top shape and ready to continue his role as the spearhead of the famous, or infamous, 'All-In' offensive attack. His success or failure in 280 will likely have heavy influence on how the Pirates do offensively as a team.



Chandrila Patriots

279 Record: N/A

Predicted 280 Finish: 4-7

Cause for Optimism: GM Reina Keither was chomping at the bit to return to the league, and it seems to have helped. If the Patriots come out with that kind of reckless abandon, they’ll have a chance to make noise. Longtime captain Avano Koobis is a crafty veteran who knows how to win.

Cause for Concern: The Patriots are difficult to read. They can be really good, like in 274, or really bad. We’re not sure what to make of them, and their last exit from the league gives us pause about how they’ll do next year. Koobis can’t do it all by herself.

Overall: The Patriots will have a tough time re-establishing themselves in the league. They will win some games with the typical Patriot swagger, and Stoney End gives teams pause. But they will struggle this season.

Impact Player: Keline Socken. The goalkeeper for the Patriots will need to have a great season. When she does well, the Patriots do well. If she has an off-year, they will likely crumble because they don’t have a great defensive unit.


Coruscant Senators

279 Record: 3-8 (0-5)

Predicted 280 Finish: 2-9

Cause for Optimism: Under new leadership of former Bakura assistant GM Briar Thorne, the Senators are working to return to their former glory. Thorne cut or traded many of the players from the prior regime, with only 9 players returning from last year’s squad. She hit the Draft running and picked up solid prospects across the board, and in camp many of the young players proved that they could compete for roster spots. Expect this team to have a youthful enthusiasm this season, and have the potential to be very good in three or four years if everything goes according to plan.

Cause for Concern: The fact that this rebuilding project will easily take three or four years. Expect another painful season for a team getting used to losing, and losing badly, every week. With rookies all over the field, plus long-in-the-tooth veterans trying to resurrect their careers, this is going to be a very inexperienced team without much punch. Defensively they are a mess, with captain Christine Gamble as the lone bright spot, and only a bit of talent around her. The midfield is no better, with only one veteran there in Alysha Romax.

Overall: This may be the beginning of a superior strategy by Thorne to start building the foundations for a winning team. But that means taking lumps, and despite the Senators having taken more than their fair share of those over the past few seasons, that will continue this year. There is also a slight possibility for this team to go winless, as they will easily be the league cellar-dwellers once again.

Impact Player: Leia Adama. Adama’s third pro season begins as a star on a very inexperienced Senators squad that is playing at least a dozen rookies. Her struggles last season proved that she still had a long way to go to be a superstar in this league. Now is the time for her to prove that she can adapt to what the league throws at her, or if she’s just a good forward with limited growth potential. Added pressure comes from a revamped offensive unit that features only 3 returning starters from last year.


Denon Demons

279 Record: 6-5 (3-2)

Predicted 280 Finish: 5-6

Cause for Optimism: The Demons had a great defense last season, and that will definitely continue. Goalie Ware Vulf had an underrated year, and the defense around him was solid all around. Li Roy Jinkins, an All-Star last year, will need to carry an underachieving offense.

Cause for Concern: This just isn’t a great team. They took the league by storm early last season, but then faded down the stretch. They don’t score a lot of points, and this puts enormous amounts of pressure on the defense to keep opposing teams from scoring.

Overall: The Demons are an OK team, but not a spectacular one. They need to find ways to score, because if they can’t, then their defense won’t help them win games again. They’ll be alive in the Skywalker Conference if they score points, and their defense will keep them in games.

Impact Player: Sugnok Umanh. The former Monarchs full back had a breakout season last year with the Demons, and is a huge presence to deal with down low. He has a nastiness streak a star-system wide, and that will scare opposing full forwards foolish enough to try and post him up.



Hapes Consortium Buccaneers

279 Record: 5-6 (3-2)

Predicted 280 Finish: 5-6

Cause for Optimism: GM Adanna Inviere somehow was able to lure top prospect Tendra Nalo to staying in the Consortium. Nalo is a beast out on the field, and will instantly spark the Hapes offense. Half back Melina Havelock is a solid veteran who knows how to play.

Cause for Concern: The C-Bucs don’t have much else on offense besides Nalo. Losing Alysha Romax to the Senators cost them their best midfielder, and that will create new questions on how to fill in the gap left behind. Defensively, they are nothing to write home about as a unit.

Overall: Nalo has talent, and it will get the C-Bucs a certain distance. But a lack of true star talent will stop them cold in their tracks unless they can find a way to get over the hump.

Impact Player: Tendra Nalo. The star of the Consortium Juniors for the past few seasons, and the daughter of longtime ELL head coach Marte Nalo, Tendra is expected to make an immediate impact on the C-Bucs at full forward, having made the transition to the Elite League look easy in training camp. The question is whether her supporting cast will be good enough; their training camp stats aren't spectacular, but Tendra showed in the Juniors that she has a way of raising the level of play of those around her, so we'll see if that manifests in the Elite League also.



Kashyyyk Rangers

279 Record: N/A

Predicted 280 Finish: 5-6

Cause for Optimism: The Rangers are known for being the toughest team in any league they are in because of the number of Wookiees they have on their team. That size will give them major advantages against most, if not all, teams in the Elite League on that front.

Cause for Concern: The Rangers just aren’t the same team they were in the 250s and 260s. They haven’t developed the same kind of cohesive talent they had in those days, and it will be a struggle for a younger, more unproven squad like this to make noise. Secondly, size can easily be beaten if the squad doesn’t adjust, so they will need to find ways to not get too caught up with being taller than their opponents and lose sight of smaller defenders.

Overall: The Rangers will likely be in the Skywalker Conference playoff discussion because they are new-ish to the league, and because the Skywalker is an open free-for-all literally every year. Their size will give them wins, but could cost them games. They need to find a formula that works in order to win games.

Impact Player: Krad. The captain of the Rangers will need to have a good season to get things kicked off again for the team. If he struggles, they could have issues scoring points.



Mando’ade Mercs

279 Record: 6-5 (3-2)

Predicted 280 Finish: 6-5

Cause for Optimism: After winning a Galactic Cup, the Mercs will look to make a bid for another one. They have a great team, and a bunch of young talent that was cultivated in the Futures League. They will be a tough matchup for every team this season.

Cause for Concern: Lost a ton of talent, including Numifolis Award winner Jeem Daryc. He was the heart and soul of this team, and without him, they have a major pair of cleats to fill. Also lost plenty of experienced reserve talent, which could cost them down the stretch. With a large target on their backs, and the wild nature of the Skywalker Conference every year, they could easily find themselves in an early hole and drop in the standings if enough other teams get hot. Goalie Mij Katan will likely not put up the same numbers he did last season.

Overall: The Mercs are riding high off a Galactic Cup title, and will definitely contend for a repeat in the Skywalker. But the loss of Daryc will hamper their offense, and Katan’s career year last year (leading to a massive payday) could lead to decreased production from him. The pressure is off to an extent to win another title, and will the players on this team feel a hangover?

Impact Player: Johnny Lieznam. Johnny Limmie, or Johnny Clipboard, as some call him, needs to take the scoring load pressure once taken by Daryc. With their emotional leader gone, the Mercs need Lieznam to finally step up and show why he was a highly-touted prospect coming out of college. With Vera Langdon doing her best to be in his way, Lieznam has more pressure than ever to perform.


Nar Shaddaa Smugglers

279 Record: 4-7 (1-4)

Predicted 280 Finish: 6-5

Cause for Optimism: This season will easily go better than the last one. We don’t know why last year was so bad, but such is life. The Smugglers will bounce back and be a powerhouse once again. Goalie and captain Jayla Leed is back for another year of domination, and Erin Windreaver is arguably the second-best midfielder in the game behind only Alana Glencross. Add in homegrown kids taken in the Draft, including the Helmsman winner, and the Smugglers are reloading.

Cause for Concern: They struggled last year without Kaitlyn Vehn, and no longer having Mylessa McCloud really killed their offense. They need to find a new scoring threat, or else they’ll have problems putting points on the board in the same way they did when they won Galactic Cup titles in the last five years.

Overall: The Smugglers are returning to form, but it won’t be an easy road. The Skywalker will test them mercilessly, and they have to put out their best and hope that their new rookies can take them to the next level.

Impact Player: Mick Steele. Steele is expected to perform as well as two-time champion and current offensive coordinator Mylessa McCloud. The Smugglers went all in this year on the offense in the hopes that they would strike gold on just one player. Steele was one of the highest rated forwards coming out of the draft and should make an immediate impact on the Smuggler's front six. Look for McCloud to utilize him in her schemes early and often.



Ralltiir Starkillers

279 Record: 9-2 (4-1)

Predicted 280 Finish: 8-3

Cause for Optimism: The Starkillers have all the talent they need to win games. Their offense is good, although a little weaker than last year, their defense is rock-solid with captain Ty Allin leading the way, and Kaat Stun is a year or two away from putting her stamp on the league for good. They know how to play defense, know how to score points, and will be competitive.

Cause for Concern: Despite the big-name players they sport in the starting lineup, the Starkillers have a thin bench, and this could easily come back to haunt them down the stretch. We don’t expect Trey Till, at 39, to have another great year like he did last season, especially with new developments in his personal life. Disgruntled forward Andres Fortune’s return to the team is of note, a potential issue that could threaten to stall their offense if he doesn’t cooperate with his teammates. Don’t expect repeat career years for many of their players.

Overall: The Starkillers will contend for the playoffs in the Solo, and will likely be the third seed come playoff time. They still have a ways to go to defeat Rydonni Prime and Bakura, though, so they need to find a way to finally get over the hump if they are to break their playoff losing string and advance. Uncertainty in the ranks will likely spill over into on-field performance, so keep an eye out for how things play out.

Impact Player: Bartholomew Vigo. The late owner’s son, who never played organized ball before 2 seasons ago, now has the galaxy’s eyes on him. We know he has skills and the raw talent to succeed, but will his inexperience, plus the ever-shifting management at the top of the organization, eventually tear him down, or can he rise to the challenge like his father before him?



Rydonni Prime Monarchs

279 Record: 7-4 (3-2)

Predicted 280 Finish: 8-3

Cause for Optimism: The Monarchs find a way to win. They never look this good on flimsy, but they really know how to compete, making it to three of the last four Galactic Cup title games. Goalie Ozzie will definitely have a better year than he did during the 279 regular season, and Maggie Adams is the real deal at forward. Experience, especially in the playoffs, will help this team contend.

Cause for Concern: At some point, lacking a true scoring threat like Vesper Lynd will come back to haunt them. The Monarchs don’t have that pure scorer, instead relying on contributions from all their forwards to score points. Add in that they have made so many Finals in recent years that the Solo Conference teams, especially Bakura, will be hot on their heels and ready to take their best shot at the reigning Solo champions. The road will not be as easy as it was in year’s past.

Overall: The Monarchs are a great Limmie team, and are the odds-on favorites to return to the Galactic Cup Final this season. They have all the parts necessary to get that far, and have potential to finally bring home a championship. But losing yet another Final will start to wear on them mentally, and the Elite League is not forgiving. Just because you make a few Finals doesn’t mean you have the best team every year. They need to stay hungry in order to stay on top, or else it’s a long way down from the mountain.

Impact Player: Ozzie. With the way the Monarchs shut down teams on defense in order to win low-scoring games, their goalie must have great games in him every week in order to contend. Despite clamping down in the playoffs, Ozzie was so-so last season, and at some point that could come back to haunt the Monarchs when the 50-50 balls stop going their way in late-game situations. So he is the key to keep the Monarch defense locked in and ready for anything.


Ylesia Lightning

279 Record: 4-7 (2-3)

Predicted 280 Finish: 3-8

Cause for Optimism: Getting in some new blood on offense will definitely help. Drafting forwards in the first and second rounds will give the Lightning new scoring punch, and will take some of the pressure off captain Zoa Vra. Kasin Urdaaza is back in goal for the Lightning for another season, and Korlo Penin is a capable backup should she falter. Prya Tiin is easily one of the best players you never really hear about in the news.

Cause for Concern: The Lightning are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They are struggling in the top-heavy Solo Conference, and are relying on aging stars to fill out their core unit. This puts a lot of pressure on their younger players to perform well. Vra and Urdaaza will be asked to shoulder the brunt of the load again, but murmurs from the organization seem to hint that a major rebuild is around the corner if there is another bad season.

Overall: The team from Ylesia really needs a good season from their core players, because if they don’t, it will be another long year. Hutts are not known to be lenient for many years, and we’re wondering if a bad season in 280 causes a blowup of the entire organization and rebuild of the team. Vra and Urdaaza will be asked to win games as usual.

Impact Player: Kasin Urdaaza and Korlo Penin, in a two-member positional group. It's a goalkeeper duel this season between Urdaaza, who just signed for one more season, and Penin, whose contract is also up at the end of 280. After drafting Wa Bombl, it seems unlikely that they'll both be playing for the Lightning come 281, and it's up to each of them to prove their worth and earn that contract.


HSN Predictions:

Skywalker:

Mando’ade Mercs
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers
Carratos Pirates
Chandrila Patriots
Kashyyyk Rangers
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers

Solo:

Rydonni Prime Monarchs
Bakura Miners
Ralltiir Starkillers
Denon Demons
Ylesia Lightning
Coruscant Senators

Nar Shaddaa over Carratos
Ralltiir over Bakura


Mando’ade over Nar Shaddaa
Rydonni Prime over Ralltiir

Rydonni Prime over Mando’ade for Galactic Cup


My Predictions:

Skywalker:

Chandrila Patriots
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers
Mando’ade Mercs
Kashyyyk Rangers
Carratos Pirates
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers


Solo:

Bakura Miners
Ralltiir Starkillers
Denon Demons
Rydonni Prime Monarchs
Ylesia Lightning
Coruscant Senators

Nar Shaddaa over Mando’ade
Ralltiir over Denon

Nar Shaddaa over Chandrila
Bakura over Ralltiir



Bakura over Nar Shaddaa for Galactic Cup


Odds to Win the Cup:


Rydonni Prime Monarchs: 3:2
Bakura Miners: 4:1
Mando'ade Mercs: 7:1
Ralltiir Starkillers: 9:1
Carratos Pirates: 14:1
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers: 20:1
Chandrila Patriots: 25:1
Denon Demons: 30:1
Kashyyyk Rangers: 40:1
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers: 50:1
Ylesia Lightning: 75:1
Coruscant Senators: 100:1

TAGS to Everyone, so Runjedirun, Bardan_Jusik, CPL_Macja, jcgoble3, Vehn, Trieste, Rebecca_Daniels, galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Briar Thorne
Coruscant, Two Weeks Before Season Opener

Briar looked over the roster one final time, spending another long night in the office doing so. She had spent so much time tweaking the team, making all the moves she knew she could, and maybe letting a few others go past. But in the end it was her decision on who would suit up for the black and orange, and who wouldn’t. She had good applicants in Thyferra players who just didn’t quite cut it, but that didn’t mean they were bad. Players like Karin Cherf, Oola Ban, and Luka Mellott, all of them had come out with something to prove in camp, but it hadn’t been enough. Perhaps they would have their chance during the season if someone went down with an injury; that was the caveat in Limmie. The roster you started out with wasn’t always the one you ended the year with. And if there was a team that knew the value of Futures League depth, it was the Senators. After so many injury bugs in recent years, they needed experienced and hungry players at the LFL level who were ready to step in and contribute.

Finally she put the datapad aside and took a deep breath. The roster was finally done; she could see no other ways to improve it. She had made all the moves she was going to for now, and was going to put her faith in the rookies on the roster. Almost half the team qualified as a rookie for the season, so there was a lot of inexperience up and down the roster. But Briar had a plan, or at least a vision, that required the rookies to get their lumps in now. Make a decision in haste, repent in leisure, the saying went. The rookies would get a baptism of fire for their first season, but it would toughen them up for the years to come. There were enough veterans to provide a structure for the team so that the rookies didn’t have to do everything, but it would be on the younger players to not give up the ghost. Pretty much everything ended with them.

And then it was what to do for the season opener, a home date with newly-promoted Kashyyyk coming to town. Briar remembered the Rangers when they had been a dominant team in the 260s. They had fallen off, reorganized twice as Futures League affiliates, and were now back in the league for their third stint. Senator fans likely still remembered the fights they had with the Rangers in those prime years, two heavyweights going at it like nobody’s business. It was not so much a rivalry as a tough game, one where you didn’t hate your opponent, but knew they would be tough. It was pretty much a homegrown rivalry game, one that Gark S’rily had unknowingly put into motion when his team had won the 262 Galactic Cup title. And now, with Briar at the helm of the Senators, it was time to find a way to rekindle this forgotten chapter of both team’s histories.

So she wrote a note for herself, to be acted upon the next day. She returned home and went to sleep, trying to keep thoughts about the roster out of her mind as much as possible. No, she wouldn’t dwell too much on the decisions she had just made. Instead, it was time to rest, a simple pleasure for a woman as busy as she was running an Elite League franchise.

The next day, Briar made a call to the Rangers’ front office. Through a translator droid, she was able to hash out a mutual agreement with the Ranger GM to give this series a name. The “Clash of Champions” was christened to honor the number of times the teams had played for all the marbles. After all, S’rily’s career, along with those of Dirxx Horstse, Polis Vayne, and all of them Senator legend teammates, had taken off once they had defeated the Rangers for the 262 title, and the Rangers had made history of their own by winning consecutive titles for the first time since Ithor had done it many years before, the second title of which came at the expense of the team from the galactic capital in a close match. With that much history between them, it made sense to create a rivalry series between their teams. The rivalry trophy was to be a miniature of the Galactic Cup trophy, half of it painted in black and orange, the other half in green and brown. It was like the Rim Jersey, just a metal cup instead of a stitched uniform. The inaugural winner would be glad to add it to their collection, and Briar secretly hoped her team could win that first official rivalry game.

---

Senator Stadium, Game Day

Briar settled into the home team box for the first time at Senator Stadium for a game. It wasn’t exactly like Bakura’s box, but on the other hand, she wasn’t working for the Miners anymore. This was as nice a box as Coruscant could provide, and it was rather comfortable, if not a bit excessive. Briar immediately knew why Gark S’rily hung on to the General Manager spot for so long; this place was like a palace, and would be excellent foe entertaining guests. Then again, the Bothan had never seemed like the type to sit in a box. Unlike Quinn Cundertol, who primarily sat in a box away from prying eyes, S’rily loved to get down on the field and be a part of the action. He had coached for many years, even when he had no real reason to do so. Despite the rivalry between their two teams, Briar had always admired the GM for the Senators who did whatever was necessary to win games, not necessarily to make himself comfortable. So it would be a tall order to fill in that role.

It had been a difficult decision knowing how to dress for her first game as GM. The first item out of her closet had been a team polo shirt, but that had been put aside. The next thing was a black dress, but then that was placed back. She didn’t need to be that fancy for this game. Third was one of her favorite blouses, but that also got placed back in the closet. Finally she decided to wear a black dress shirt and gray knee-cut skirt, with black flats. That seemed dress enough for her first time, to at least look professional. She made sure to tie her hair up into a more intricate pattern than just a ponytail to complete the look, and when she looked in the mirror, she knew she had made the right decision.

She shared the box today with her front office staff. Tela Loni was here, Briar’s head scout, as was Aebatt Zargana, the assistant GM, and Jimi Persons, the metrics specialist. Several other organizational brass were here as well, including Polis Vayne, the owner for the 280 season. Gark S’rily was nowhere to be seen, but he had admitted that he wanted to be out of the limelight for a year. Then again, Briar knew, S’rily’s wife had unfortunately miscarried their third child only two months before, so it was probably best that he was out of the game for a while to cope, or at least to take pressure off himself. But his need for a break had been her opportunity, so she had taken on the challenge to build a team from his shadow and try to make her own name. No matter what she did, though, she would forevermore be compared to him as his successor, so deep down she knew she had to be successful here. There was no other option.

The stands were packed for Opening Day. The crowd was filled with black and orange, with a few small pockets of the green and soft brown of the Rangers. Briar hoped that no one would start a fight in the stands with Wookiee fans, because she didn’t want to have to ask the grounds crew to clean blood or body parts up off the walls of the concourse. It would be best for everyone if all fans kept their temper, but she knew that such a thought was just a pipe dream. She didn’t know much about Senator fans except that they were extremely wishy-washy as of late, and were unpredictable. Bakuran fans were known for how good they were, and the same could have been said about those on Bison when Briar was there. But she had no idea what to expect here, because she had never witnessed a game like this as a member of the Senator organization. She had to put on a whole different analytical lens to see the crowd, not just the way she had viewed them when she was with the Miners.

When the Rangers came out onto the field, a chorus of boos rained down from the stands. That was to be expected, and Briar noted that the Wookiees didn’t seem nearly as intimidating on their third time around. If this had been the Rangers from the mid-260s, with the mighty Nauranta as their team captain, things would have been different. But this was not those teams. This was completely different, as were the Senators. So much had changed since then.

When the Senators took the field, Briar sat back in her seat and hoped that she had done enough to get this team ready for action. Because there was no looking back now; the microscope that she was now under would become even tighter and more scrutinized when the opening kickoff occurred.

Unbeknownst to her, way up in the stands, in the cheap seats, sat a very familiar-looking Bothan sitting with a ball cap on to cover most of his face. He was interested in seeing how the team the new GM had put together would do on the field against the Rangers. Gark S’rily hoped that Briar Thorne knew what she was doing.

---

IC: Christine Gamble
Home Locker Room

“We’ve gotta take it out on these guys to start off the game, because if we let them lay into us with their physical style of play, then we’re going to be on our heels,” Peet Carelle told his troops. “And remember, no one in the galaxy expects us to win much this year, so we have nothing to prove. Let’s get out there and play our game, and hopefully we’ll walk out of here with a victory. Now let’s get ‘em!”

The team walked out to the team tunnel, and Christine was at the head of the line again. As captain, she was going to lead her young team out onto that field of battle for another season of Senators Limmie. She didn’t know what this season would bring, other than it would be a struggle. But nothing bad had happened yet, so hopefully they could find a few positives and get this season started off right. She was sick of losing, and was more than prepared to get this season going in the right direction. It was time for the Christine Gamble show to air a new episode, a new epoch of the team’s history in which she would be credited for bringing the team back to respectability. This was her moment.

Finally the signal came, and the Senators rushed out onto the field to the deafening roars of the crowd. Perhaps it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as other stadiums, but to Christine, to see the entire stadium packed to see them play was a good omen. The fans, at least for now, were here to see their team play. Now they had to be rewarded for their enthusiasm.

As the Senators lined up for one final huddle, Christine looked around at her defensive teammates. The “Jumbo” package would see a lot of play today with the larger Wookiees on the other end, so Jamee Meels, the Talz, would share the half back line with rookies Eddie Munster and Chestnut Reeser a lot more than the smaller Patricia Meter and Mulhollan. Munster looked fine, that same toothy grin of his painted all over his face. It seemed like nothing fazed the Shistavanen rookie. At one point Christine had asked Munster why he was so happy all the time. “Because the galaxy is always so depressing,” he had replied. “If I don’t make myself happy, then I’ll probably never be.” In some ways, truer words had never been spoken. Reeser was a lot more nervous; she, unlike Munster, had played at a smaller school in college, and was likely fazed by this stage.

So Christine had a few things to say to the rookies. “Listen up, rooks,” she said to Munster, Reeser, Klay Mettews, Duncan Gabbert, Cannon Mallonn, Kelly Vurgess, George Wulson, Maddy Swann, Zuzu Nuun, Morgan Renhorn, Callie Polarez, Loryyk Fey’limm and Natasha Ehlers, Polarez and Renhorn with a few games of ELL experience, the rest making their Elite League debut in this game. “This is going to easily be the hardest game you’ll ever play. This is when you’ve gotta take the cuffs off and make plays. The Rangers are scary because of their size and length, and they will challenge you. They’ve been playing pro ball together for several years now, and we don’t have that luxury. So mind what you learned in camp; that will save your hides out here today. For the few of you starting, make sure to stick to the gameplan,” she said, staring straight at Nuun, who was starting at Left Corner Forward in place of the departed Maximus Qorbus. “Don’t make bad mistakes out there. Just play, and let the veterans take the charge unless you have room to make a play. Get a feel for the speed of the game, and then start doing what you’re best at. And remember, things will only get harder when we go on the road, so get the lumps out now while the fans are friendly.”

Right as the team split into starters and reserves, the starters going onto the field and the reserves to the bench, Christine had a moment to speak with her assistant captains. Leia Adama had been given assistant captain credentials this season, Zen Keisel, the former Smuggler, had as well for his experience, and then Alysha Romax, a former Senator captain. “Those walking carpets are going to make it tough on us today,” Christine said to her assistants. “Make sure to keep the rookies in line and making smart Limmie plays. Try to call out sets that they can use, and take the pressure off them. Make sure your positional coaches are ready to scramble the play calls if necessary.”

“We’re going to need to spread the ball out on the offensive end,” Leia said. “They have a ton of size up the middle, and I’m not going to be able to post them up unless I want to get smothered in fur or scales.”

“Then we’ll have to take a page from the Packer playbook of old and look for bar points if we find we can’t penetrate the middle. Have Vail get in there and try to clear space. Screens aren’t going to be as useful as in normal games, so we’ll have to rely on speed,” Christine commented. “Alysha . . . hang on. It’s going to be a rough game keeping them in check in midfield.”

“I’ve faced these fuzzballs before,” the grizzled Hapan midfielder said. “I know how to play them.”

“Zen, you and I need to make sure that the half backs are lined up correctly, especially since Jamee doesn’t talk much, and Deluxx might need help at full,” Christine said to her fellow corner back. “We need to keep the heat off of Montes today.”

When the teams took the field, Christine gulped as she stared down her matchup at right corner, Nak. The Trandoshan looked ready to fight it out for sixty minutes, but at least she didn’t have a Wookiee like Keisel did.

“Get ready to rumble,” Christine breathed to herself as Camille Montes kicked the ball off to the Rangers to begin the game and the 280 Coruscant Senator season.


TAG: No One

 

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

Geoff sat in the front room of his apartment. It was a day before heading out to Ralltiir and he was studying the lineup. The half backs would remain unchanged. Mikia, Rhodri, and Ponie were the backbone of the defense to change them now would be disastrous. Rhodri seems to have gotten over his prejudice against Ponie and the two have been working together fantastically. Did that mean the coach could play him against the Smugglers and Lightning? It still sounded like a risky proposition. On the other side the half forwards had come back together as their own little family. Seiji, Else, and, Leigh were always together now they went nearly everywhere as a group. Geoff was worried that Gor may end up on the outside of such a tight line but they seem to have accepted him. While the young Nikto was rather talented, the pure chemistry the starters had was unmatched. It was like they were linked somehow always knowing were the other would be before making a pass. A skill that was very useful in the ‘All-In’ attack the Pirates had perfected. He was still very proud of his strategy that took the league by storm but, now his opponents had time to figure out how it ticked and how to beat it. It was probably time to come up with another game plan.

The new rookies showed what they had at training camp. Bel was solid at full back and Kala had a size advantage at corner back and could cover a lot of ground. Also the coach noticed something between the Kerestian and the rookie forward Tian. He sat next to her on the shuttle ride from Ylesia and kept close to her as they walked around the city, at practice though he seemed to go after her harder than he did either Vayan or Rime. Was that because she seemed a little timid when approaching the net? For Tian’s part no matter how hard the hit, she would get up as if nothing happened, most times. One time after getting up she went off on Kala screaming at him and pushing him. All the large being did was smile. With her outburst over they continued with the scrimmage but, the young Pantoran played like a completely different person, getting deep into the offensive zone battling for position and taking nothing from no one. She had a few of these outbursts usually preceded by a hard hit from Kala or another defender, followed immediately by an explosion of offensive production and aggression. The coach guessed this is where her streakiness comes from. It worried Geoff the rookie seemed to have two modes sweet, bubbly and timid or coarse, fiery and aggressive. She wouldn’t start this season and maybe not even the next, she was too much of a wild card.

The front door opened and Laura stepped though followed by Ira and Iris.

“Hey babe,” the oldest woman said moving toward her husband, “You wrap practice early?”

“Yeah, I…” he stopped mid-sentence as his two daughters jumped into his lap. “It’s the last day before we ship out, it’ll be the last time we’ll be on Carratosisan soil for nearly five weeks.”

“That’s a long time to be away from their families.”

“Daddy, daddy, look at my hair,” Iris said pulling on her father’s shirt collar. Her brown hair was cut short stopping just below the base of her head.

“I see, just like Leigh,”

“Un hun,”

“It’s very cute,” he reached over and rubbed Ira’s still longish hair, “And you look very pretty Ira, just like your mom.”

“You know who could use a haircut,” Laura said sitting next to Ira, “is Logan. His hair is almost at his shoulders, any longer and I’ll start braiding it.” The full forward had decided to grow out his black hair for reasons unknown but, he was also the star player and it wasn’t breaking any rules except those regarding unofficial fashion.

“If the guy wants long hair, who am I to stop him. It’s not hurting anyone.”

“He looks like a girl,” Iris said,

“I think he looks cool,” Ira retorted, Geoff hugged both of his daughters and smiled at his wife,

“See, the court of public opinion is split on the length of Logan’s hair, it stays.”

“You planning to start any of your rookies against the ‘Killers?” Laura asked,

“Well Bel is rather solid at full back and Kala is a force to be reckoned with in the corner but, both are unproven in this situation, and it’s going to get loud in a four million plus stadium.”

“You faced the Mercs and the Monarchs in their massive stadiums and won both times, this won’t be any different.”

“Yeah but, the rookies haven’t had that kind of experience yet so I’m not sure how they will handle it,”

“What about that new girl, Tian, will she play this season?”

“Not if I can help it, in practice she can be as timid as a mouse or a firebrand, the problem is I never know which one she’ll be when she steps on the field. I don’t need that kind of volatility on my front three.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll do get either way.”

“Well we got to show that last year wasn’t a fluke that we have what it takes to compete.”

“I’m sure you will babe.” The family shared a hug on the couch.

“All right who’s hungry?” Geoff asked. After affirmative replies from Iris and Ira, the coach got up and started to prepare a meal. He spent the rest of the day with his family soaking up every moment he could before going on the long road trip that lay ahead of him.

Ralltiir Spaceport, Ralltiir

It had been a rather short trip, probably one of the shortest on the schedule for this first half of the year. Geoff followed his team down the boarding ramp of the shuttle there was a crowd of well-wishers and Scallywags waiting for them. They shook hands gave quick autographs and were generally friendly, especially Tian, who must be in one of her good moods right now. Past the group Geoff noticed a well-dressed Pantoran woman, he recognized her from the Soiree. She approached the players but, only one reacted, the other Pantorian.

“Auntie Cho,” Tian shouted as she suddenly embraced the older being, the coach stopped in his tracks. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“And miss my niece’s ELL debut, not a chance,” Tian’s face soured,

“I’m not that good auntie. I don’t think I’ll start,”

“Nonsense, hold your head up high,” ‘Auntie Cho’ said lifting her niece’s chin, Tian was a little taller than her so it looked awkward but the sentiment it conveyed seemed heartfelt. “You were drafted by one of the best teams in the galaxy, which means something. You’ll get your chance, give it time.” The equally well-dressed Zabrak next to Cho bent his head to say something into her ear. “Well little Tian, I need to be going, I’ll see you at the game.”

“All right see you there auntie.” Realizing that she had fallen behind the others the rookie forward ran thought the spaceport trying to catch up. Geoff wasn’t worried he knew where he was going.

It was a few hours before the game and the coach was patrolling the concourses of Finical Square it was a behemoth of marble. It put Goss-Pell to shame, everything seemed made to impress with almost ostentatious wealth. Geoff was sure if Schnitt wanted to he could make a new stadium just as grand as the one the Pirates were about to play in but, the Balosar was a better business being than that. The Pirates had one good season, the Starkillers have had many, and they had a gravitas on the level of the Miners and Smugglers. He put these thoughts to the side it didn’t matter how big and fancy your stadium was all that matter was how you play on the field, and the coach knew his team was ready.

TAG: Runjedirun

 

IC: Setarcos Rhemes
The Free-Flight Dance Dome, Etti IV
Prior to the start of ELL 280

The off-season was typically where the Monarchs’ GM shined. He could hardly wait for the season to end so that he could let his gears start churning. But this season was a completely different story. Lynd’s new rules on him meant that he was basically a figurehead. He wasn’t able to make any personnel decisions, no unsupervised discussions with any other ELL team management, and absolutely no input during the draft.

He sat in his apartment, drinking himself under the table, while Romo and Vesper chose the future of the organization. Months of preparation flushed straight down the fresher. The two off the boards picks he had Ramses and Riviera scout were now lost to history, just like the two he sent to find them. Another part of Vesper’s new regime was the complete overhaul of the scouting department, spurred by the retirement of Remus Olappa.

On top of this professional life being on lockdown, so was his personal life. He knew that he was being followed and monitored. He also knew he wasn’t the only one.

“So, Mr. Rhemes, care to explain why I’m sitting in some dive at the edge of the galaxy?” Tavish McNosh was not one to mince words.

“Well, Minister, the Corporate Sector was one of the few places I knew we could have a candid conversation.” Setarcos took a sip from his glass, “You see the CSA doesn’t take kindly to outside surveillance and espionage organizations.”

Tavish looked confused, “What and my club wasn’t secure enough for you?”

“You’re club is far from secure. There’s more eyes and ears in there than the ones you have on your own payrole.”

“Fine, so I have spies in my club, am I supposed to be shocked by this little revelation?”

“No, Tavish, you are not,” Setarcos took another sip, slightly longer than the last, “But you should be alarmed that I knew and you didn’t.”

Tavish slinked back in his seat, “Tell me you didn’t drag me all the way out here just to tell me that I’m being watched.”

“On the contrary, I brought you out here because my confidence in our little plan has been shaken.”

“So now you’re getting cold feet?”

“No, I’m frustrated.” Setarcos slammed the remainder of his glass and motioned for refill. “That stunt that your man pulled has completely messed everything up. If he had just been patient we would have had everything in place to cut Lynd off at the pass.”

“Oh come off it Setarcos. There’s more at stake here than your precious little sports team.”

“Don’t you think I know that?!?” His voice and blood pressure started to elevate. He looked around the room to see if he had mistakenly drawn any unwanted attention. Lowering his voice he continued, “He jumped the blaster and now there’s an added element that was needn’t be there. If he had just followed the plan we wouldn’t have the eyes of Bakura upon us.”

“That might be true, but in the end it won’t matter who’s watchin’,” Tavish agreed, finally taking a sip of his drink, “Because all they’ll be seeing is history being made.”

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

IC: Vesper Lynd
Peace City Gardens, Peace City, Ylesia
280 ELL Week 1, Monarchs at Lightning

There was only one constant in Vesper’s life, and that was change. Her little baby boy wasn’t a baby anymore. Little Dorian was walking and talking with basic words. Contrary to the popular rumor buzzing around the dressing room, bolo was not his first word. Meanwhile she was dealing with professional changes as well.

The search for new coaches was harder than she thought. Even though the Monarchs made the Galactic Cup three times in the last four seasons, they weren’t necessarily the dream job. Not winning a Cup in three attempts made things tenuous for the entire coaching staff. Fortunately for the Monarchs they had wealth of limmie knowledge into which they could tap.

Once Romo was given the green light he contacted his top two candidates to fill his assistant and defensive coordinator positions. Of course Dawn Solo and Lex Silas jumped at the opportunity to come back to the Monarchs. Corrie Andersen took a promotion to offensive coordinator to round out the three vacant slots. Meanwhile that created yet more vacancies as Laura Cynd-Nazug and Biedo Nazug both returned to the Red Wings to fill openings there.

Again Vesper turned to their Futures squad and promoted founding Monarch Edu Ovando to defensive backs coach. Meanwhile she placed a call to former teammate Staweh-Tam Ford to coach the half backs and he accepted without hesitation. But still the Monarchs were short two coaches, until the solutions walked through her office door just before training camp broke.

“Ves, we need to talk to you.”

Winnie Aptos and Cali Royd strolled into the owner’s office and took seats across the desk from her.

“What can I do for you ladies?”

“You can grant us our releases.” Cali said with absolute bluntness.

Vesper knew her shock showed all over her face, “Now why would I want to do that? You two are some of the best players that I have on the squad.”

“Yes, but we are also two of the oldest,” Winnie plainly explained. “We would like to leave the game on our terms.”

Cali stood up, “We want what you have Ves. We want to be able to start families, and we can’t do that if we’re constantly trying to keep ourselves in peak physical condition.”

“Come on Cal, Winnie, I’m no role model.”

“Ves, don’t try to fool us. We know that you’re not going to play this year, and we’re on the last year of our contracts. We know that we’re not going to have our contracts extended so we want to go out on top.”

Vesper sat back in her chair and thought for a moment, “Alright, I’ll grant your releases, but only under one circumstance… you two accept the jobs of the midfielders and forward coaches.”

So that is how the Monarchs coaching staff came to be, all former Monarchs led by the Badger himself.

When the Monarchs ventured back to the place of the their final 279 defeat they brought with them a new roster, complete with reserves.


Goalkeeper: Oss’irh’cgood**
Right Corner Back: Ryan Barlen
Full Back: Liddy Powe
Left Corner Back: Cora Xux
Right Half Back: Tanyo Oragam‡
Center Half Back: Drista Konnenwirth
Left Half Back: Aley Helios
Midfielder: Cotts’lan’tnanam‡
Midfielder: Kelsei Seter
Right Half Forward: Rhonda Gabor‡
Center Half Forward: Maggie Adams*
Left Half Forward: Carrie Remington‡
Right Corner Forward: Landra Wygins‡
Full Forward: Tess Sanouci‡
Left Corner Forward: Olle Quiver‡
(* designates team captain)
(** designates assistant captain)

Reserves:
- Goalkeeper: Corvo Antilles
- Full Back: Raymar Dolphmen
- Midfielder: Severine
- Midfielder: Jessie Dare
- Half Forward: Jaymes Nolan
(‡ designates Ingbrand eligible Rookies)

Thus starts another season in the Elite League Limmie.

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels

 

IC: Mylessa McCloud
Denon

The Demons faithful were loud, their energy surging throughout the stands, hungry for a win to start the 280 season. Hungry to fight the team from Nar Shaddaa that had helped shape professional limmie for much of the last decade. The Demons were an old franchise. They had been around the block for quite awhile even though they had done nothing of note, nothing relevant, in years. Still, they managed to sell out their stadium in what many analysts surmised was a desperate attempt to stay relevant in an ever changing league.

Mylessa McCloud knelt on one knee in the tunnel underneath the stands. Flecks of durracrete trickled down on her head from above. She wiped the chalk-like substance away from her eyes and focused on the team that was going to take the pitch without her. She’d wanted to cinch up her cleats, she’d wanted to adjust her knee-high socks, she’d wanted to feel that soft jersey fabric against her skin, to wear the burgundy and black in this hostile environment. That wasn’t going to happen now. Now she had to lead from a different chair. Now she had to lead from a different place in her very being.

“You know the plan,” Mylessa said as she made eye contact with the front six. “Smart shots, distribute the ball evenly, and take the crowd out of the game. You know what we need to do. I don’t have to explain it to anyone. We’ve made it through camp together.
Now we’re going to make it through the crucible of a limmie season. This is what we do, people. This is how we play. We’re going to roll out the ‘Knife-Edge Pass’ attack today.”

They knew what that meant. It was an offensive scheme developed by Mylessa to take advantage of the raw talent on the front six. The point was to make it hard for a defense to know who was going to take the killer shot. The Smugglers had built a roster that allowed anyone to make a point, be it above the bar or below, from anywhere on the pitch. The fine line between death and glory. This was the attack that would carry the Smugglers forward out of the basement of the Skywalker Conference. The attack would be random but it would do its job well. Even if they floundered today out there on the pitch, which McCloud thought unlikely, the scheme still showed promise in all the simulations run. It had certainly put the Smugglers defense on edge during scrimmages.

“Let’s go out there and do this!” Mylessa said as she high-fived the team on their way out onto the pitch.

“Here we go. You ready,” Meredith said as she passed McCloud in the tunnel.

“With you by my side I’m born ready,” Mylessa replied as the pair headed to the sidelines to watch the start of the game.

Tag: No One

 

GM Post

Happy opening day! This says it all:



Bonus rolls to all player teams for the Draft (and jc had his Tendra plot during the offseason so he gets a bonus roll too ). Here's hoping for a fantastic season.

Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Ylesia Lightning (0-10)
Kashyyyk Rangers at Coruscant Senators (20-11)
Carratos Pirates at Ralltiir Starkillers (14-15)
Chandrila Patriots at Mando’ade Mercs (19-4)
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers at Bakura Miners (2-38)
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Denon Demons (7-28)

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

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Financial Square Arena, Cambriele, Ralltirr

The four million being crowd roared as the teams stepped on the pitch. Geoff looked over his team. He had given the nod to Bel and Kala to start in the back line in place of Boutros and Samia. They had proven themselves capable and the backs needed a lot of work after last season. Didn’t mean it wasn’t a gamble, the Starkiller offense was known to be a dangerous and the crowd was doing the rookies no favors. Hopefully Kala’s overwhelming size could keep Sureysh covered, though the veteran corner forward’s speed had given the Pirates headaches in the past.

Tian smiled from the bench her right leg bouncing up and down. The young Pantorian was in a good mood for being on the sidelines for her first game. Jace, sitting next to her, had a very different expression. With Kala starting and Samia back to full heath he had fallen to being a third string back. He looked out on the field looking a little disconnected. Maybe he was seeing some writing on the wall. He’d been there before, it starts with riding the bench, and then suddenly you’re on the free agent list waiting for someone to call. Geoff would hate to send the player packing, and didn’t plan on doing so, but, if Schnitt needed to cut him for salary reasons it wouldn’t hurt the team’s performance. It pained the coach to think like that, to view his players as useful or not but, that was the cold calculus that came with being a coach.

Right out of the gate Brian was having issues keeping Fortune under wraps, the star forward had left the back in the dust and put an opening three on the board. The Pirate offense charged down the field and met stiff opposition from the Tills and Allin. They obviously had still had the ‘All In’ very much in mind. The Starkillers had shut down the high intensity attack the last time the two teams met and they looked ready to do it again. No strategy remains hot forever. Rime called for the ‘Half In’ alternate attack letting the half forwards hang back while the forwards take the back line head on.

Logan was getting almost nowhere trying to get a good line on the goal. Allin was always in his way. Rime and Vayan were also stymied by the uncle and nephew combo of the Tills. His front line stopped cold Geoff looked to his half forwards to step up. Else was pinned by the Whipid Poletin but, Leigh and Seiji were able to get position on their markers to start putting shots on goal. Stun stood tall in goal making good clean stops until Leigh sent a scorcher off her foot to the corner. The score was tied up but, it didn’t stay that way for long.

Vigo got around the rookie Bel and made the second goal for the home team. The sea of blue and orange sent a wave of cheers down to the field. It amazed Geoff a bit that for as much as his team acted like family, a lot of the Starkillers were family all the way up to the GM. He wondered what kind of stress Fortune’s shopping around put on those relationships. Family was powerful and made it easy to work with but, any missteps on or off the field could be compounded by the simple fact they couldn’t get away from each other.

At the half the Pirates were up by one point thanks to a goal from Seiji and, Else finally getting some space to put the ball over the bar. The team seemed to be firing on all thrusters, other than the front three not getting any action, the rest of the team was doing well. The Pirates stellar half backs were on from and the back line looked stronger than last years. The Twins kept things moving in the midfield but, Hovechar wasn’t making it easy for Marky. The young man looked a little beat, taking a few deep breaths next to his sister. Kala’s imposing figure sat quietly near his stall. The coach would catch him stealing glances at Tian.

Geoff was still wondering what was going on there. Kala wasn’t necessarily fixated but, he had taken a noticeable interest in his rookie cohort. Tian was friendly with him but, she was friendly with everyone, unless she was in one of her moods. It was when she was in those states of aggression that the huge Kerestian seemed to enjoy her presence even more. He was an odd one, though she was just as odd. Geoff allowed the team to gather their strength. It was going to be another loud, grueling thirty minutes they needed as much rest as they could get. If this was a sign of things to come, it was going to be a long road trip, for the team from Carratos, and an even longer season.

The two teams returned to the field under the same thunderous crowd. Geoff had to use a set of macrobinoculars to find the ‘Black Spot’ in the stands but, they were there however small, still waving the flag. The half started off big with two big stops by Qazi on the Starkiller offense. At the other end Logan managed to get a little traction and chip a shot toward the net. His hopes of a leading goal were dashed by Stun making the save. The Pirate forward balled up his fist in frustration it was the first taste he’d gotten of the ball in a while and he wanted something to show for his efforts of dealing with Allin.

At the other end Kala lost Sureysh when the latter put a fast move on the large defender. It was too easy. The ball went straight to the corner like it was on a wire. This gave the ‘Killers the lead by two points. Geoff set his jaw, they couldn't afford to go down right now. With the ‘All In’ shut down the high flying offense couldn’t put up to points to overcome a large deficit. That didn’t mean the Pirates were without punch, Leigh and Seiji were still dangerous in front of the net and although Else was having troubles in the middle she could still make a pass or two.

Leigh made her second goal of the game to get the team back on top. That felling was short lived as Odette put a shot on goal that Qazi just barely knocked over the bar. The Quarren goalkeeper passed it out to Kala, who stormed up the field like some sort of tank. Once that being got going it was next to impossible to stop him, he would most likely be a valuable asset in the game against the Rangers. He punted at not even half strength for him to Else who had gotten behind her big marker and charged the net. Leigh and Seiji ran with her toward the goal mouth. Else found an opening in the back line and fired off a hard fast kick past Stun.

Time was winding down if the Pirates could hold on for a little bit longer, they would win their first game of the season. The thrill of victory was getting closer with every passing second. The opposition wasn’t giving up either, coming at the back line with everything they had, peppering the goal with shots. Then one got though, it was tied up again and time was fast running out. One good play could decide this game. The team in black and white moved quickly up the field there was no time to waste. The ball changed hands many times until ending up in Else’s.

The red haired half forward made a quick ditch pass to Seiji and he made a try for a bar point, all they needed was one point. They got it as the ball just made it inside the uprights. The Starkillers came back just as strong, if not stronger, this game wasn’t over yet. The defensive zone became a mess with all the forwards trying to tie the score with a bar point or win the game with a goal. The Pirates defense was determined not to give it to them. A battle of wills began in the final seconds.

Soker got around Mikia and had a clear shot at a bar point. The half forward took it, tying the score. It wasn’t the end, if they could just hold on for a little bit longer they force overtime. Geoff could see it on the player’s faces they were almost at their limit. It had been a draining game but, a good one. The crowd was cheering their team on, drowning out almost all other sounds. Qazi made a pass to Brian that was quickly picked by Fortune. Geoff’s heart sank, he could feel it, this wasn’t going to go the Pirate’s way. The star forward fired off a shot that was well over the net minder’s head, straight through the uprights.

Geoff ran his fingers over his head, they were so close, and victory was nearly theirs. It had been a very good game and neither side had anything to feel sorry for, both teams gave their all and left everything on the field. That was how you start a season. In the hand shake line the coach gave each player a heartfelt ‘good game’ especially Trey Till, this was his team in more ways than one, and he lead them to the win this time. Everyone that played was tired ready to sleep but, it was off the Mandalore next for what was sure to be another explosive matchup.

After packing up Geoff walked down a darkened street outside the stadium. Something felt wrong, a well-dressed Bothan with a silver skull and crossbones on his lapel stood in in the light of a street lamp.

“Mr. Copin.” The being said in an even, slightly friendly tone, Geoff turned around immediately. You didn’t have to live on Carratos to know this was bad. “I’m not here to hurt you.” An empty speeder blocked the exit. “I just want to talk.”

“You have a very forceful way of starting a conversation.” The coach said looking over his shoulder.

“Apologizes for the inconvenience but, this could not wait until you returned back to Carratos.” Geoff turned to face the mysterious being.

“What’s going on?”

“As you may already be aware, the Board has decided to take a more active role in the Pirates management.”

“Schnitt had made mention of having his hands tied.”

“That will only be the beginning, there are many old rivalries coming to the surface among the Board, and they have no qualms about letting it affect this team.”

“How do you mean affect?”

“Forcing you to play players you don’t want to, picking up players that are useless to you.”

“What happens if I refuse?”

“If you don’t go along with their demands things could become unpleasant for you.”

“How unpleasant?”

“Your kneecaps would be in grave danger.”

“They wouldn’t dare do anything to me, I helped this team to become what it is, besides I have…” The coach looked around. He didn’t see any large beings in black shirts.

“The Star Dragons watching over you, you forget who they actually work for, Board says leave, they leave.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“For the time, play along. I’ll work behind the scenes to make the impact less on you.” Geoff shook his head.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You’d rather be kept in the dark about what’s going on with your team,” The Human had to admit he hated being kept in the dark but, was knowing and not being able to do anything about it better than not knowing at all.

“And what’s in it for you?”

“I’m just a Scallywag that wants to see the Pirates succeed.” The furred humanoid pressed a button on his wrist. Geoff’s head turned to see the speeder move out of the way. Back in front of him the Bothan was gone. He walked away feeling particularly unnerved.

TAG: Runjedirun

 

​

IC: The Rancor Pitt

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on a hot, hot, hot day. Welcome on into the Rancor Pit, we're the Guardians of the Galactic Cup. 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 what a horrible, horrible game yesterday."

"That was just..."

"Horrible?"

"Yeah."

"The day started out great, the crowd as aalways was fired up, 4.5 millions Mando'ade fans waiting to see their Mercs defend their Galactic Cup championship and then that happened."

"Hey the ring ceremony was great as was the raising of the Championship banner."

"Sadly those were the highlights of the day, but you're right, the PR folks did a great job."

"Daryc was back at midfield to get his ring along with most of last year's championship team."

"I think Soker and Rollko will get theirs when the Starkillers visit Week 7."

"Oh that will be good to see too then. "

"But yeah, the banner was raised the players got their rings, the team was honored with a tribute on the HoloTron with moments of last season replayed, culminating of course in the Mercs first ever Galactic Cup Title."

"The dha werda verda was done at midfield."

"Is it dha werda verda or dha verda werda? I always get confused."

"I uhhh...."

"It's dha werda verda guys."

"Thanks K-Man."

"Anytime."

"Anyway, the atmosphere was great, everyone seemed fired up, and then the players came out completely flat."

"There was a lot of emotion out there Randy, it might have just been overwhelming for them."

"These are professional limmie players, it's their job to not lay an egg like that. They stunk, stunk right from the very beginning of the game."

"Well...yeah, it wasn't good."

"Not good? It was horrible! We had something like 5 turnovers in the first seven possessions."

"Was it that bad? i remember it being bad but..."

"Guys, it was actually five turnovers in the first six possession and eight in the first ten."

"Shab, that's just horrible."

"Well give credit to the Patriots coaching staff, they had their players ready to play."

"They are always good, the best really at taking away the thing a team does best, and for the Mercs that was their defense. They just kept attacking Hadon all day and tried their best to stay away from Mauntak on the other side of the field."

"They did a great job of keeping the ball moving too Randy. They never gave Mauntak or Tullo much of a chance to hit anyone."

"That was just frustrating to watch. Even when they did go their way they would pass the ball off before the hit you knew was coming could arrive. Just...horrible."

"Katan played OK all things considered."

"He was under assault all game long, I give him credit for only giving up 18."

"19."

"No it was 18, Connor came in for the last five minutes and gave up that last point."

"Oh right right right. I forgot about that."

"I don't want to harp on the defense anyway, the real problem was the offense."

"The forwards put our D in a really bad position yesterday. Turnover after turnover."

"No kidding, and then when they turned the ball over they were slow to try to help the D out. The middies were just left out to dry!"

"How many turnovers did Jaing have?"

"Oh it was a lot, had to be nearly a dozen alone."

"It seemed like more."

"It was nine guys. Nine turnovers, one assist and one point scored."

"He had an assist?"

"Yeah that one really nice pass up to Langdon for her point. It was the only good play he made all game."

"The team managed only two assists yesterday. Mor'kesh had one on when Arock scored."

"Mor'kesh scored a point too didn't he?"

"Yeah late first half. That one cut the Patriots lead to 13-3."

"Horrible, just horrible."

"Did you see Er'Mey on the sidelines? I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel."

"What the throbbing one in the middle of his forehead? Couldn't miss it."

"Yeah I have seen that look a time or two. He will get the offense straightened out. It just might take some time given how young they are right now."

"Well he had better hurry it up. Look, I knew they would miss Daryc, but shab. The offense looked lost out there and I don't see how they can correct it before taking on the Pirates next week in a rematch of last season's conference title game."

"Going to be tough, we've never beaten them in the regular season."

"Don't remind me."

"Hey at least we beat them when it really counted."

"Yeah, but a loss there puts the Mercs in an 0-2 hole with two conference losses. That alone will be tough to come back from. Hate to say that a week two game is a must win game but..."

"It's a long season, but yeah 0-2 conference record will be hard to bounce back from. Not must win, not yet, but it's close."

"I love the long season, and it seemed to agree with the Mercs last year, but lets see how things shake out here. We have a big game, big game to try to wash the taste of yesterday's horrible performance out of our mouths. It really can;t come quickly enough for me, but lets take a break and when we come back we'll get your thoughts on the Mercs horrible start to the 280 season. What you expect out of them going forward and how you think they match up with this season's version of the Pirates. Don't forget in the second hour we'll be going out to Meshla Vhetin for Coach Kor'le's press conference and we'll also have an update concerning rumors surrounding Daryc's new career. Right here, when we come back, on the fandalorian!"

TAG: No one. I hate NPC teams.

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Senator Stadium, Coruscant

Ten minutes into the game, the Rangers already had two goals up on the board. Grika, the Wookiee full forward, had out-competed Deluxx for the ball and then sent a screaming line drive into the back of the net for three points. That goal pushed the early Ranger lead to 6-0, and Senator fans were getting a little nervous. They didn’t like seeing the opposing team coming out with this kind of fire.

Christine had made sure that Nak wasn’t going anywhere, but the Trandoshan had put in some licks on the corner back as well. It would be a hotly-contested battle at the right corner today. Christine stole a look over at the sideline after the goal, and she wasn’t surprised to see an irate Pamila Korthe trying to mix up the defense. They couldn’t keep letting the Rangers push that deep into their territory, because once they got in that far, there was literally no stopping them. The Rangers had size everywhere that they could use to bowl over smaller defenders, and right now that size advantage was working.

Down on the other end, the Senator offense was a mess. Zuzu Nuun, the first overall pick in the Draft, got trapped by an expertly-placed double team by two Ranger defenders. Although Vail Pin came in to try and present a target, Nuun couldn’t find the Shistavanen and instead panicked. The ball was easily stripped from her, and the Rangers ran it up the field. A pass went just over the outstretched fingers of Alysha Romax at midfield and found Krad, the Rangers’ captain. The Trandoshan ran one way, and then passed off to a teammate. Zen Keisel, waiting on the route, tried to make the interception, but was only able to knock the ball out of bounds, possession still to the Rangers.

Peet Carelle called a timeout, and the Senators returned to the sidelines. “What the hell are you all doing out there?” the coach demanded of his players. “We’re better than this. They’re beating us in every phase, and we can’t let them continue to beat us at the point of attack. I’m making lineup changes.” Sure enough, Eddie Munster checked in for the first time, making his Elite League debut. The toothy-grinning Shistavanen half back was excited to get into real action, although his size would likely be neutralized by the Rangers’ upfront bulk. Out came Patricia Meter, who was just too small to make much of a difference on the larger Rangers. The goal here was to utilize the “Jumbo” package enough to cope with the Rangers’ size and length, but the major issue was that was the inexperience that package had. It required Jamee Meels to lead the half backs, something the Talz wasn’t particularly good at, and also had Munster and fellow rookie Chestnut Reeser in there. The rookies had never played an Elite League game before, and that inexperience would likely come back to bite them if the “Jumbo” got caught on the field for too long. So it was a major gamble by Carelle to see if he could turn the tide by mixing things up.

When the Rangers inbounded the ball, it went to Lowbook, the Center Half Forward. Munster was there, keeping his arms up to stonewall Lowbook. The Wookiee tried to get out of the one-man trap, but Munster shuffled his feet to the side and kept up the intense pressure. Finally Lowbook had to pass out of the spot, and the defense had to readjust. It was a promising start for the energetic rookie.

But that didn’t last long, because Lowbook caught Munster flat-footed three minutes later and blew his effort apart by giving him a rough stiff-arm, and blasted by him. The Wookiee passed down low to Grika, who had gained good positioning on Deluxx. The Weequay tried to stand his ground, but Grika posted him up and finally put in a hook shot over Deluxx’s head. The ball went over the bar easily for another point. The next time down the field, Munster was burned badly when Lowbook completely left him in the dust after he overplayed a simple ball fake, and Grika, once she had position on Deluxx, then passed out to a waiting Ticheen for the shot on goal. Camille Montes wasn’t able to stop the shot, as Grika had gotten in her way, and three more points went up on the board. Now it was 10-0 Rangers, and the home fans were getting restless. They hadn’t paid to see a redux of the prior season. Munster got yanked from the game after just four minutes, a promising shift blasted to pieces. Veteran half back Mulhollan came in to stop the bleeding.

Finally, the Senator offense got itself on the board. On a nice pass from Vail Pin, Leia Adama was able to sidestep Liss and then sent a rocket into the net for the Senators’ first points of the season. That cut it to 10-3, and bar points by the embattled rookie Nuun and Becki Morlan cut it to 10-5. Yet, the Rangers weren’t done, because they replied to the Senator 5-0 run with one of their own. Working against Reeser, Fulwob completely juked the Selonian out of her cleats and passed off to a waiting Nak. Christine made a nice play on the Trandoshan, taking her opponent down with an excellent form tackle. However, she hadn’t been able to turn the corner forward around, and Nak passed off to Grika. The full forward, now matched up against rookie Cannon Mallonn, made a swim move to get under the Herglic’s outstretched arms and popped out on the other side. Mallonn made a play for the ball, but came up with only air, and Grika burned Montes for yet another goal. More misery for the defensive rookies came when Christine was taking a breather. Kelly Vurgess, the young Hapan defender acquired from Hapes in the offseason in the Romax deal, was completely burned by Nak. The Trandoshan, freed from Christine’s clutches, made quick work of Vurgess and got a give-and-go play from Grika to score a goal of his own. 16-5 was the score when the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime.

The locker room was quiet. The young players had their heads down; this was not a good debut for them. Munster and Reeser hadn’t done anything in their shifts, Nuun already had four turnovers, Loryyk Fey’limm had three turnovers, and Maddy Swann, the second-round draft pick, had no stats whatsoever as she was just being completely outplayed. The veterans looked sullen as well; they were being thoroughly whipped out there, and another half didn’t sound appealing in the slightest.

So Coach Carelle sought to change all that. “That’s not Limmie, that’s being cowardly!” he said sternly. “You’re all better than that! The Rangers are using their size to intimidate you, and then they’re bashing it down your throats! Fight back. Scrap for every loose ball, look for steals only when you know it might work, and stay in the passing lanes. I’m not going to let this game get away because all of you gave up!”

The irate coach, sick of seeing the veterans not quite clicking, started inserting rookies into the lineup for the second half. “We have no choice but to try and surprise them,” he told Christine when she asked.

“But Coach, these rookies just aren’t ready to play with that kind of size,” Christine said.

“It’s our only hope, to meet size with size,” Carelle said, not even looking at his team captain as he spoke.

When the Senators came out for the second half, Christine and Keisel were at the corners, Mallonn was at full back, and the half backs consisted of Klay Mettews, who had done an OK job, Munster, and, surprisingly, Reeser. Christine made sure to talk to the rookies in the huddle. “Remember what Coach said at the beginning of the game. We have nothing to lose here, and everything to prove. Make smart plays, and don’t let their size get to you. It’s already affected how we’re playing this game, so just imagine that they don’t have any skills except that size. Attack them in any way you can, stay in front of them, and be pests. Make them want to swat you, but don’t let them. Keep up the pressure.”

“They’re too big,” Reeser said glumly. “Too strong.”

“So you’re going to give up?” Christine challenged the rookie. “I’m sick of giving up. It’s time to take a stand. Get out there and fight, or you probably won’t see this league again. Coach doesn’t want quitters, and I don’t either. We can still do this; if the offense kicks their asses into gear, we can still win this thing. But that means making stops, and we have that in our power. Come on, we can do this.”

And they did. Christine was pleasantly surprised to see how the rookies had taken her words to heart. Munster kept on Lowbook this time, not taking the fake, and staying on the Wookiee. Reeser had one bad play to start off, but she finally got into the groove by ripping the ball away from Krad and causing the fumble. Mettews came in and cleaned up the play to force the turnover. The Selonian was extremely nervous, that much was obvious, but plays like that usually got a player into the game. And that’s that was necessary here. With the Rangers’ size advantage, Meter was practically useless, and the larger backs would have to play more minutes.

The offense also found a rhythm. On an inbounds play, Leia cut in front of her defender and took the nice pass from Becki Morlan. The 278 first overall pick pushed the ball into the net from the low post, scoring her second goal of the day. It was a beautiful play that had given the Senators’ star full forward in an isolation situation, one where she could thrive. That cut the lead to 8.

As the minutes ticked by, Christine made sure that Nak was in her sights at all times. Whenever the Trandoshan got the ball, the corner back was in her face, hands up or out, depending on the situation, and being annoying. Christine at one point ripped the ball away, keeping up the pressure. That seemed to fuel the defenders, who kept switching out when the players needed a break. Munster checked out and Mulhollan had a good shift before the Shistavanen was back in, and Reeser went out for Meels, and then came back in when Mettews needed a breather. Mallonn started to impose a wall on Grika at full back, so the rookies were trying their best to keep the Rangers from scoring.

When the game came into the waning minutes, Coach Carelle pulled some of his defenders in favor of more attackers. Christine stayed in to cover the Ranger forwards, and she didn’t let them have any space even when the Senators had the ball at the other end. She wasn’t going to let them have any cheap points late to put the game away.

Finally, despite her best efforts, Christine listened to the horn blast that signaled the end of the game. Rangers 20, Senators 11, the scoreboard read. It hadn’t been as close as the score indicated, but Christine had a silent sense of satisfaction about the second half. They had neutralized the Ranger forwards, allowing only four points all half, three of them on a lucky goal from near midfield that took a weird bounce and got in past Montes’ fingers. The fans, feeling marginalized going into the locker room, were obviously re-engaged with the frenetic intensity of their suddenly-improved defense. The long looks that Munster and Reeser had were now replaced by worn-out expressions as they trudged off the field.

But Christine wouldn’t let them feel too down. “Good work in that second half,” she told Reeser. “You need to keep that level of intensity up at all times you’re out on the field.”

“I don’t know, it just felt different in the second half, like I could take ‘em,” the Selonian said.

“That’s because you can. You just need to believe that you can, and to make smart plays. Just look at me; I’m not trying to be flashy out there, but someone needs to do the dirty work. So I make tackles and look for opportunities to make good plays. It’s easier to let them come to you instead of you to them. That way you can keep in front of them, and you don’t find yourself overplaying and then being left behind as your matchup goes past you down the middle for a shot on goal.”

When Coach Carelle spoke to his team, he was still frustrated with the first half performance. “We need to start better,” he said. “But that second half was great defensively. We came out with energy, and we made plays. If we play with that intensity every week, we could make some noise this season. Offense, you definitely need to work on ball control this week, but it’s OK. This was just the first week. We still have ten games left to iron out the kinks. It’s a start.”

For the first time in a while, Christine Gamble felt somewhat encouraged by a loss. The rookie defenders looked lost in the first half, as did everyone else, but they had knuckled down in the second half. There was definitely potential here; they just had to coax it out over the course of the season.

---

IC: Briar Thorne

“That was an enjoyable second half,” Aebatt Zargana said as the Senator front office staff prepared to leave the box. “Those defensive rookies got down to business.”

“Just like I knew they could,” Briar said. “It’s why I drafted them. They have potential, just not the experience. I think watching Gamble and Keisel play . . . did they allow any points? . . .”

“None,” Tela said, looking at her datapad. “And only two shots on goal on Keisel, both of them easy Montes saves. Gamble didn’t even give up a shot attempt, she was that good.”

“As I was saying, I think the rookies will look at the veteran corners and see how this game needs to be played. That kind of tenacity was how we won titles back in the day,” Briar said, alluding to the Miner defenses that had clamped down on opposing teams so many times over the last decade. “The coaches need to instill those values in the younger players. Offense needs a lot of work, though, so hopefully Coach Zan will work on that over the next week. Chandrila won’t make it easy.”

“I think the defense is leaps and bounds ahead of the offense, judging by today,” Tela said. “But that could be a new system. Zan was coaching in the Futures League last year . . .”

“So was Korthe,” Briar reminded her head scout. “But I don’t think the coaches are as much responsible for that effort as the players. The defenders just wanted it more than the forwards. Adama is good, but she needs help. All the defenders need to do is just watch Gamble and Keisel, and that’s pretty much how they need to play. They have the right role models to watch and learn, and then ask questions.”

“So what do you suggest we do for the offense if it continues to scuffle like that?”

“Patience, we’re only one week in. So far so good, I would say,” Briar commented, seemingly not interested in her assistant’s question. “Not a good game by any means, but an encouraging one. At least they weren’t blown out by thirty, which is what it looked like coming out of the half.”

“I take it this is all part of your plan?”

“Everything has to start somewhere. We need to build a foundation before this team can truly compete for titles,” Briar said. “And today was an encouraging start, even if just for a half.”

The next day, Briar looked through all of the Coruscant press releases about the game. As was to be expected, they weren’t being extremely optimistic, but they weren’t giving up altogether. At least not yet, Briar thought. The effort of the young defense was noted in the write-ups, and there was potential there for improvement. The coaches would have to take that potential and try to mold it this week in practice, because any given week, any team was beatable, as the logic went. So the Senators had a chance to win against the Patriots, and for anyone playing the odds, any chance was better than none. You couldn’t win if you didn’t play.

After one week, there were encouraging signs that progress was being made. Yes it had been another home loss for a team suffering through another long losing streak, but at least they had made a game out of it in the second half. And at the moment, that was all Briar could ask for.


TAG: No One

 

IC: Alana Glencross
Miners’ locker room, Bakura Gardens, Salis D’aar, Bakura



Alana sat on her bench in her stall with half the lights on. She was the only being in the room. There were likely support staff around for it was game day, but they were elsewhere. Her elbows were on her knees, fingers laced together in a double fist supporting her chin. Everything was quiet and her mind roamed.

This was more than just the beginning of the season. It was the beginning of the end. Cloud City had been a feel-good romp, but it hadn’t been part of the regular season. This was different. This one would go in the record books. This one would determine how many games she had left. Was this the first of 11? Or would it be 12, 13?

Alana felt the wood bench beneath her. It had grown familiar over the last 13 seasons. It had supported her in defeat and victory. She parted her hands and with her right one tapped the bench beside her with her knuckles. It couldn’t hurt.

---

“...do not make the mistake of thinking these Bucs are the same,” Valerii told the team, “They’ve made more aggressive roster moves in this offseason than they have since coming into the League. Nalo is hot and they’re going to try to get her involved often and early. Horst, she is your special project today. Everybody else, play like you did on Cloud City and I like our chances.”

The head coach’s speech was finished, but the entire room waited. Nobody got to their feet, and not just because the clock in the locker room said they still had a few minutes before they were supposed to take the field. Alana knew what they were waiting for.

“Everybody in this room knows this is my last season,” Alana said without standing, “Maybe that’s going to make us targets this season, I don’t know. Everybody seems to circle us on the schedule anyways. What I want to say to all of you is…” She paused, trying to find the right words. “...when you know that it’s going to be your last, the games get different. These are ‘the good old days.’ Play like it, relish them, and have fun. Let’s do this.”

---

Dun, dun DUN.

It wasn’t the only strains that she had come onto the field to. They’d once “built this city on rock and roll.” But this music she associated with the 270s, with Quinn Cundertol and Gaeriel Valerii.

With championships.

Dun, dun DUN.

Alana had stood at the exit to the locker room proper, giving everyone a slap on the back that served as a mini-push as they headed down the hallway.

“Let’s go,” she said to Alesh.

“Big time now,” she said to first round draft pick and rookie Moole.

No words were needed to the taller Pic, who bumped Alana with her shoulder on her way by, a gesture of affection.

“All right Bearanger,” Alana said to Falene and Niskat, the last two in line as they usually were.

Dun, dun DUN.

Now Alana moved up the line, passing every player who had gone by her, receiving salutations in turn.

“Be shiny today,” Falene said.

“Start off strong,” Niskat said.

“Let’s go, cap,” from Hervey.

“We got this,” Alec Kazoo said, bouncing up and down, overflowing with anticipation for his first Elite League game.

A fist bump from Ronan.

“Who are we playing again?” Horst asked. Alana didn’t answer--he’d figure it out when they got out there. However, considering Valerii had explicit instructions for him in the locker room, that probably wasn’t the best sign.

“Once more unto the breach,” Cordell Beckman Jr. intoned.

And then Alana was at the head of the line, the silver doors that led to the concourse before her. To her right was the line snaking down back towards the locker room. Behind her were the words that she had said when it really counted during the 271 Final, the words that ever since had been the de facto motto of the Miners.

“Out here in the fields…”

Another game at the Gardens. Home.

“...I fight for my meals…”

The first step in a long season. A longer season than when Alana had started. Then it had been only seven games. Now it was over 50% longer.

“...I get my back into my living…”

As they had ever since 267, the hits would come. They would come for her. They would come because she was good, because she was great. They were the price that you paid for greatness.

“I don’t mean to fight…”

It was always a fight. Everyone wanted it just as badly as you. Sometimes more. But you had to want it more. You had to hang it all out on every play. If you didn’t, someone else.

“...to prove I’m right…”

Right and wrong were alien concepts on the pitch. Just wins and losses and what you could get away with under the noses of the refs.

“...I don’t need to be forgiven.”

This was the first Tipoff, officially. It would be Alana’s last.

It was time to begin.

The doors slide open and Alana walked across the blue carpet rolled out to the tunnel. She didn’t see the fans to either side, minded by security. She only saw the brightness beyond, she only heard the noise of the crowd rolling over her, she was only aware the welcome of the Gardens for its team. It was a welcome that knew, like Alana, it only had so many more chances to show its respect for the captain.

Yes, this was the beginning of the end, but it was still the beginning.

Alana Glencross had some business to take care of.

---

This was why she had come back. Alana had known as she’d thought about it all that she had another season left, that there was still limmie to be played, greatness was still in her. Right now, that feeling was confirmed.

A year ago, the Miners had beaten the Bucs 38-6 on Hapes, a walloping if ever there was one. Surely Bucs fans had thought that things couldn’t get worse. Today was worse. When the dust settled, it was a 38-2 rout by the blue and gold.

Alana’s dark blue jersey had nary a green stain on it after 60 minutes of play. All the practice had paid off. If there had been any doubt about what Cundertol had done this offseason by picking up two young corner backs there wasn’t anymore. Moole and Kazoo had locked things down and Lizbit Comstock had been flawless covering the net. Horst Penn had apparently figured out or remembered whom they were playing and what he was supposed to be doing because he had the rookie Tendra Nalo’s number. Alana imagined that this was going to be a debut that the young stud was not going to remember.

In the second, Valerii started putting in subs for several starters, but Alana stayed in the game. Neither of them had talked about it, but there was an understanding between the two midfielders that the captain was going to play every minute this season. Alana wanted to play, not just because she was a professional athlete, but because she wanted to enjoy every second on the field this time around.

It was also good for the subs to get some time with the captain. Alana could marshal the Miners’ forces and keep them focused in a real game. This experience could be crucial for the team should they need these reserves down the road.

The fans loved it. This was what they expected the Alana Glencross Farewell Tour to be: a giant party. Even though the game was just the Miners pounding on the Bucs, they stayed and lapped it up. They were being spoiled by the effort today, but they didn’t care. Their team was in top form right out of the gate. This was what they expected from their team. Expectations might be the father of disappointment, but today they had been met.

When the game was mercifully over, Alana headed down field, focused not on finding Lizbit to congratulate her on her eighth no goal game in her career, but to pay her respects. Holo crews crowded around Alana as she moved and they wanted to be on hand. They had a feeling they knew where she was headed and wanted to document this moment. Given the score, it was not going to be the symbolic passing of the baton that some had thought would happen if the result had gone the other way. Even so, the old and the new were about to meet.

“Good game,” Alana said to Tendra Nalo, extending a hand, “I think your dad would be proud you kept your chin up on a tough day.”

Tendra took Alana's hand and gave it a firm shake. “I’m sure he would have. You played a heck of a game yourself. I hope that years from now, I can go out on top the way you are now. I just wish today’s game could have been closer. Tell Horst he played an incredible game also.”

“I will,” Alana said, “Good luck with the rest of the season.”

There were a few other congratulations from C-Bucs, including a handshake with another veteran captain, Wai Lin who had always been a tough nut every time the Miners had played Hapes. It was clear that they wanted to pay their respects, which touched Alana.

Alana returned to the locker room after a parting salutation from the crowd that had remained after the game’s conclusion. She trotted down the tunnel and across the concourse. The mood in the locker room was ebullient. 38-2 was a score that didn’t roll around that often. When it did, you enjoyed it--even if you were a stern head coach.

“What the frak, everybody?” Valerii said. The smile on her face told the team she wasn’t really angry, “Getting lazy out there? We put up 40 on the Captains and only 38 on these guys? You slackers.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Niskat said, “Tell us everything we did wrong today.”

“I’ll leave it for tomorrow. You all know how you did today and you all know they’re not going to all be like that,” Valerii said, “The Starkillers won today too and they did it by playing tight wire to wire. They’re going to have an edge and a killer instinct. Enjoy it for a few hours, but then get your heads on straight. Trey Till is coming for us and he does not hold his team back.”

The head coach left and the players loosened up again. Alana got her cleats off and put on a pair of flip flops so she could head out into the back hallway in the players area away from the public. She just couldn’t be in the locker room right now. She’d never felt like this before. What she was feeling was odd.

“Hey, looks like Mom couldn’t wait to see you after her big day.”

Alana looked over to see her husband and son coming over. Olivar was released by his dad so he could run over to her and she bent to receive his embrace. “You won!”

“I did,” Alana said.

“Dad said you won big.”

“We did.”

Niall sensed something was different in his wife. He’d lived through enough postgames to read Alana well. “Hey, something up?” he asked.

Alana looked at her son, unsure of whether she wanted to talk about things like this in front of him. However, she didn’t want to let him run loose around the back halls of the Gardens. “Just...the first game I ever played as a Miner was against Genet. Nailbiter. We won. I’ll never forget it.”

“And now there’ll never be another first game of the season?” Niall said.

“No...well yes, but that’s not what I was thinking about,” Alana corrected, “I’m just thinking about Marte Nalo’s girl. Every time she thinks about her first ELL game, she’s going to think about getting torn apart 38-2. I don’t know how I’d feel if that was my first memory in the League.”

“Maybe it’ll make her angry and she’ll start smashing opposing defenses,” Niall suggested.

“You never know,” Alana admitted.

“And if you felt that badly for her, you could have blown those goals on purpose,” Niall said.

“I don’t feel that bad,” Alana said, “All right, come one, everybody’s probably decent. Let’s go see the team.” She led her eager son towards the locker room. “If you’re very nice, Mr. Penn might share some of his secret supply of candy with you. Just don’t tell Dr. Trieste he still has any in the locker room or she’s going to get very upset…”

TAG: jcgoble3 (who approved the game action and Tendra interaction) Runjedirun

 

IC: Keli Sen
Thyferra

There was less than 48 hours to go until Keli would get her opportunity to be a head coach for the first time. She had been the understudy on Tatooine to Gwynn Reeser and then Sunlua Zan, but now she was in a new organization and had a new opportunity in hand. The chance to make a name for herself as a coach was major, but it also made the former Starkiller nervous. All she had ever known in her career was now just another organization to play against, another team looking to knock hers off. And that felt weird going into her first game as Thyferra head coach.

The incident in the locker room in the LFL playoffs the prior season that had gotten both her and Zan fired were behind her. She knew she had screwed up, and was ready to make up for what she had allowed to happen. It had been a serious lack of judgment, something that never should have happened. If she and Zan had just waited until the players were out on the town that night, maybe things wouldn’t have gone over so badly. But that was the past, and there was nothing she could do about it now but try and move forward.

Up first was Gallinore, the development team for Hapes. Briar Thorne, the Senator GM, had swung a trade during the offseason to acquire two pieces from the Firedrakes, utility back Kelly Vurgess, now with the Senators, and Thyferra half back Conar Kraft. The Hapan man was itching to play against his former team, especially since he wasn’t too hot on the women-dominated society prejudice that the Hapans believed in. So to have a shot to make it to the Elite League was his motivation to do well, especially since the Senators had a shaky half back line, and might need reinforcements at some point during the season.

The team she had control of was a mish-mash of veterans and rookies. Undrafted free agent Harper Rice, out of UB Salis D’aar, had shown his worth in training camp, and would likely be a major weapon in the Futures League schedule. Fellow undrafted free agent Perdita Mowler had some flashes of brilliance, although she would start on the bench. The signing of Demetra Silkins, a former #2 overall pick by the Senators in 272, was intriguing, because Silkins was still a decent player. She just didn’t have it on Coruscant, and Alsakan had let her go after a few seasons. Obviously someone had thought it would be a good idea to bring back the midfielder and let her have a shot to break back into the Elite League.

Then there were the veterans. Oola Ban would be the starting, and only, goalkeeper on the roster, so her health was paramount for the success of the team this season. Karin Cherf had been given chances in camp to succeed, but she had come up short, making Sen wonder why the former draft pick was stuck in this rut. She should have made the Senators in camp, so why didn’t she? There were rumors that she had missed part of the prior season due to being pregnant, but Keli didn’t know if that was true or not. She just hoped that if those rumors were true, that Cherf wouldn’t get, or hadn’t go, if camp had seen many make-out sessions, too friendly with a guy like Rice and find herself in a similar position this season. A young woman not swooning about Rice would be a hard task, Keli noted, because he was just that handsome. If she was a few years younger, she probably would swoon over Rice as well.


When the game came around, it was to see how her team would fare in its first game with her as head coach. And she was also curious to see how she would do; there was no telling what the pressure would be like, so she could only hope she could handle it.

TAG: jcgoble3 (for scores next week, and also for Gallinore)

 

IC: Madelyne Till

I was more than surprised to see Fortune come out of the gate with the intensity he did. It made sense, he had more to prove out there than anyone. Still I guess I just thought it would take him more time. He made scoring a goal on the Pirates look easy and had the crowd on their feet whooping and hollering as they twirled their Strong Towels.

I sat as still as possible. I wanted Louise to get some sleep. That wasn’t easy when the Pirates penetrated our defense tying the score. It was even harder moments later when my own son put three points on the board. He took a shot from so far back the stadium silenced a moment. When the ball hit the back of the net the crowd erupted all at once. I was so proud of Bat in that moment A huge smile was plastered on my face when the jumbo screen caught our reaction in the owner’s box.

My second favorite moment of the half actually came when the Pirates tied the game at six all. When the shot was made Ty leaped into the air to bat a ball with his head only to remember midair that he should be avoiding the use of his head. He attempted to move to the side to use his forearm and ended up making no contact with the ball at all. Kaat Stun was so busy laughing at Allin’s maneuver that the ball went easily into the net.

Allin looked frustrated, but Hovechar was busy dribbling furiously around defenders at midfield so Trey pulled him in close and shared some insight, I suspect. Or knowing those two maybe it was just a dirty joke. Either way Ty was smiling when they parted and when the ball came back down to their end again Ty successfully batted the ball away with his fist. Our offense was deadlocked for the remainder of the half and the Pirates took a one point lead just before the buzzer.

I pulled Louise out of the wrap on my chest to wake her. Immediately she was unhappy. Her little screams filling the box made Mrs. Allin judgmental. “Why did you wake the baby?” She asked.

“If she sleeps the entire game I have to be up with her all night,” I reminded Ty’s mother.

“Oh,” she replied embarrassed. “Why don’t you let me take her for a while so you can have a rest?”

“Really?” I asked already holding Louise out towards her. “I’ll warm a bottle if you don’t mind feeding her.”

“Sure,” Mrs. Allin said. I could tell she was a little uncomfortable, but I needed a break. I loved Louise more than life, still being her sole care taker was beginning to ware on me. So I handed her over and warmed the milk. I took a seat for a moment on a sofa in the rear of the box and watched the dance team perform on a holo on the wall. The next thing I knew there was banging on the front window and I realized I had drifted off to sleep.

Zoey and T.J. were making a ruckus. I squinted at the screen in front of me, the score was tied 13 all. “Mom your up,” Lucie said with excitement. “Watch for the replay Bat just tied the game.”

I took note that Louise was in Lucie’s care now. Perched on her knee in front of her protruding belly. I looked up towards the holo and watched my son as he caught a pass from rookie midfielder Chira Moun. Bartholomew immediately slung the ball towards the top left hand corner of the goal. The keeper leaped to make a stop; it was no use the ball was out of his reach. Bat raised his hands in celebration and if I’m not mistaken did a two-step. It was quick and subtle.

I raised my weary body off the sofa, went to the front of the box, took Louise back from Lucie and had a seat in the front row. I barely found my seat before the Pirates re-took the lead. The crowd was not silenced they only grew louder as our offense gained control. Newly acquired Melia Soker aimed for the goal. She scored a bar point, once again the game was tied. I let out a groan. I just wanted the Starkillers to win this thing and if possible to win it in regulation. So I could go home, get Louise a bath, help Tomas finish his homework, make Tomas’ lunch, change Louise, feed Louise, make dinner for Tomas and get some sleep.

It was Fortune who came up with the ball in the final seconds. The crowd was on their feet, Strong Towels were spinning wildly in the stands. He looked at the goal. I know he wanted three points, but his head prevailed. He almost gently tossed the ball up between the uprights. The crowd spun their towels faster as they celebrated and the buzzer sounded ending the game. Zoey and T.J. hugged each other in a rare moment of cousin bonding. Down on the field Justyne ran out to congratulate Andres.

“Does this mean Mommy and Andres aren’t fighting anymore?” Zoey asked no one in particular.

“Let’s hope so,” I answered. The win and Andres contribution to it would hopefully start to mend a lot of rocky relationships. “I’m going down to congratulate Coach Till and collect Tomas. He has a history paper to finish before school tomorrow. You all are welcome to stay up here as long as you wish.”

“I want to go see Andres,” Zoey interrupted.

“Dada,” Marty put in.

“I’ll have your mother come get you,” I promised Zoey as I quickly made my exit. Two security guards rode down the private lift with us and escorted us into the home locker room. I was engulfed in a smelly sweaty hug. I didn’t mind the stench; Trey’s touch felt good. I stood on my tip toes for a quick kiss. “Great game,” I complimented.

“Worked out well,” he agreed. “I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he promised.

“You aren’t staying late?” I asked surprised.

“We won, all players, even myself get the night off,” Trey said. I was delighted by the news. I grabbed a reluctant Tomas and we made our way home.

“Go get that History paper,” I told Tomas before we even got in the door.

“I’m hungry,” Tomas argued.

“Bring up your History paper,” I ordered pointing towards his data pad. I could tell by the look on his face that I wasn’t going to be pleased when I saw his work. He grabbed the data pad off the table and brought his paper up. There was only one paragraph. “It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll ask Coach to pick up some dinner. You and I will knock this out easily,” I encouraged.

I handed Tomas my tablet and instructed him to bring up the current chapter his class was studying while I used my pocket device to text Trey. Once I had confirmation from Trey that dinner was being ordered I turned back to Tomas. But there wasn’t history on the tablet I had given to him. Displayed on the screen were Limmie scores. “Tomas,” I scolded. “You realize that if your grade drops below average you lose your privilege to be on the team this year,” I reminded him.

“Says who?”

“I say.”

“I don’t need history,” Tomas informed me. “No one makes credits for knowing history. Beings make credits for playing Limmie. Serious credits.”

“School is important Tomas. Beings can get hurt playing Limmie. If your father didn’t have his education to fall back on you wouldn’t have the opportunities you have. You certainly wouldn’t be living in a house with a swimming pool, or the latest holo game console hooked up to a theater sized screen. You may not even have your own room. School comes first Tomas.”

“Stop being such a bitch.”

“GO UPSTAIRS.” I yelled so close to Tomas’ face that I’m sure he felt my breath. Tomas actually jumped back in fear at the fierceness of my voice and Louise began to cry. Tomas stormed up the steps. I picked up Louise and headed towards the sofa in the front room. There I held my daughter and openly sobbed. This was supposed to be a nice evening. Tomas and I had gotten through dozens of homework assignments together. What was different about tonight? Was it the fact that I brought up his father?

Just then Trey opened the front door with a smile on his face, two bags of take-out food in his hand and a satchel of data pads over his shoulder. He took one look at me and his smile was replaced with concern. “Maddie,” he said as he placed the food on an end table and lowered the satchel to the ground next to it. “What’s wrong?” He asked taking a seat next to me.

Trey was looking at Louise who was lying peacefully in my arms now. “Go ahead take her,” I encouraged. I handed our daughter over and snuggled up against Trey.

Trey kissed Louise’s forehead. “I love you,” he said bringing her in for a gentle hug. Trey perched his feet on the caf table with his knees bent to create a cradle of sorts to hold our daughter with. He turned towards me. “What’s wrong?” He asked again.

“I upset Tomas,” I replied.

“Looks to me like he upset you. Where is Tomas? Thought he’d be hungry after working the sidelines all afternoon.”

“I sent him to his room.”

“So he is in trouble,” Trey said knowingly. He gently removed Louise from where she was perched in his lap. “I better go talk to him.”

I reached out and took Louise back. “Maybe we should eat first,” I suggested.

“He obviously hurt you and you’re protecting him,” Trey almost scolded. “You want to tell me what happened?”

I shook my head. I was embarrassed. I knew if I tried to talk about it I would start crying again. Trey shrugged his shoulders. He started up the steps and disappeared down the hallway.

After about five minutes passed I decided to give Louise a bath. I was feeding her when Trey and Tomas came back downstairs. Tomas walked over to us quickly. I’m sorry,” he said.

“I can’t allow you to talk to me that way Tomas. I’m pulling you from practice tomorrow.” There was a long silence. Tomas looked to Trey for help, but Trey was busy warming up his supper and paid Tomas no mind. For once Tomas kept his mouth shut. We all ate. Then Trey took Louise while I helped Tomas write a few more paragraphs for his History assignment. I felt bad about the situation. I had spent too many hours at the stadium and not enough with Tomas. His paper was incomplete at best. I vowed to myself that I would make it up to him.

After finishing with Tomas I found Trey and Louise watching game footage. I sat down next to Trey. He paused the screen in front of him and put his arm around me. “Good thing we didn’t trade Fortune,” he commented.

“It was a good game,” I agreed allowing myself to remember how happy I had been just a few short hours ago.

“Hell of a game,” Trey put in. “I just wish you could come with us next week.”

“With a baby? On a shuttle, for more than a day’s travel each way? No thank you.”

“We might get our asses handed to us anyway,” Trey put in. “Bakura won by 36 points today”

“Glencross is determined to go out on top,” I thought out loud.

“She would draw a lot of ticket sales if we are awarded the cup game. But she’s already won a cup. Three cups. Hopefully we beat her next week. It’s a conference game and we need all of those we can get. But that doesn’t mean we can’t pay our respects. The team needs your assistance this week Madelyne.”

I couldn’t imagine how I could help a Limmie team. So Trey filled me in on how I could. After sorting out the details we retired for the evening. The next morning after I dropped Tomas off at school I had a follow up with my doctor. “You're all clear for normal activity Mrs. Till,” he told me. “What form of birth control are you planning to use?”

“Birth control?” I asked. “It’s Limmie season. I don’t think I need birth control.” In truth I just didn’t want this man or any being to tell me what I needed to pump into my body. Ever since I had given birth to Lucie every time I had gone in to any doctor for any type of appointment. Whether it be a minor illness, injury or wellness check-up when the doctor realized I wasn’t taking birth control they asked what form I’d like to have. Maybe most women wanted birth control after realizing that babies kept you up all night or that on occasion their teenager might call you a bitch. To me having a family, creating a group of people that loved each other unconditionally meant everything. Sure we fought, but at the end of the day we needed each other and we came together as one. It was not something I would give up for anything and why anyone would pump pills into their body to prevent it was incomprehensible to me.

Midweek I got a call I had been waiting for. It was Spencer. “How’s school?” I asked excitedly.

“Easy,” he replied. “I should have taken more classes.”

“It’s better this way,” I promised. “You have more time to practice your swimming and to spend with the Sandskimmers. How’s the team coming along?”

“We made the Knott twins co-captains,” he began. “They tear up the pitch. I think they will take the team far this season. Yolanda is a little disgruntled about not getting called up. Bill thinks she will settle down once the season starts though. I think Vallitt is going to be a great defensive player once he’s given some playing time. He might be our answer to replace Trey whenever he finally hangs up his cleats.”

I laughed. “Hey mom. Tomas called the other day. He told me what happened. Don’t be upset with him. He didn’t mean it.”

“I forgave him already. He learned his lesson though, at least I hope.”

“Yea, he told me you pulled him from practice. His coach is sitting him a half this weekend for missing. But he says he deserves it.”

“He has a game this weekend?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Just tell me when and where so I can be there.”

We saw the Starkillers off to Bakura a day later. I handed each player a small bottle as they boarded the shuttle. With my assignment complete I was free to attend Tomas’ game. I dropped Louise off at Lucie’s and piloted our speeder to the field. Trey arranged for a body guard to meet us there. To my relief it was a female, to the outside observer she looked like a girlfriend. It was a windy day. I huddled under a blanket in the stands and I doubt many people would have recognized me anyway. Tomas sat the entire first half. His team was ahead by three when he finally got some playing time. Tomas went right to work increasing that lead by taking a long shot from midfield. It was just like Bat had done a week earlier at the Starkillers home opener.

When the game ended I was happier to get in the speeder and turn the heat on than I was that Tomas had won. We stopped at a caf shop to celebrate his win one on one. Our relationship mended we headed for Lucie’s to pick up Louise.

The game between the Starkillers and the Miners aired early the next morning our time. I made Corellian toast and eggs for the occasion. Lucie and T.J. came over to watch with Tomas, Louise and I. Zoey and Marty were staying with Fortune’s parents at Justyne’s house. The five of us sat in our pajamas in the living room stuffing our faces when the Starkillers took the field for warm ups. It appeared the mixes I had made worked just the way we had planned. Each and every Starkiller had dyed their hair the same shade of red as Alana Glencross. Some beings that were covered in fur such as Frokabukk and Zire had dyed a stripe of their fur over their forehead.

“They look great mom,” Lucie commented. “You did a great job with the color.”

“You think Alana will get the tribute?” I asked watching Ty Allin run his fingers through his unrecognizable red locks.

“We’re about to find out,” Lucie commented as the Miners ran out of their own tunnel for their own warm up session.

Tag: galactic-vagabond422 , Trieste

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Senator Stadium, Coruscant

The funny thing about rivalries was that you always felt like you could win any given contest in a series. Even if the odds didn’t quite match up, there was that ethereal quality to playing your rival. It was skill against skill, with bragging rights, and sometimes more, on the line. You always gunned for your rivals more than against other teams; this was where the hatred laid, the animosity towards another team and its fanbase.

Except that random luck in rivalry games didn’t seem to exist for the Coruscant Senators. The critics had gone on about it all offseason, much to Christine’s chagrin. Anyone who had taken a look at the numbers say a frighteningly-bad trend; out of the past 30 rivalry games the Senators had played, with rivalry trophies as the independent variable, the team had won only 9 contests. 30% of the time the team won, 70% of the time it lost. In a league constantly searching for parity, those numbers proved anything but. To make matters worse, only 1 counting rivalry game had been won since the last time the Senators played, and beat, Chandrila in an Elite League game in the 276 season. There was three years in between then and now, a fluke win over Rydonni Prime in 278 the only win compared to an enormous number of losses, likely a dozen, if anyone really wanted to count them out. And these repeated failures didn’t make the fans any more optimistic that their team could change their luck in the Revolutionary War game for 280.

Those facts hung like a pall after the Kashyyyk loss, adding yet another rivalry loss to the Senator record. For those playing along at home, Christine thought as she readied herself for the Chandrila game, they would say that the Senators were just young and inexperienced. But she had played this game long enough to know that there was no mercy to be had. Teams had taken advantage of her so many times she wanted to bash her head into a wall and cry. But the strong teams got to where they did by pushing aside the pretender squads on their way to greatness. That was the way to win. If you had a weak team, they would be exposed and demolished by the better teams. So you had to be strong to win.

And that was the problem with a rebuild. Chandrila at least had their team mostly intact from their last Elite League stint, the Senators 2/3 new from the beginning of the 279 season. There wasn’t the kind of chemistry between the players that they needed, and it was wearing on the captain. Yes there had been improvement the prior week, but that was last week. Now the young players needed to bring that same intensity this week, or the Kashyyyk game would just be another relic of decent play in a sea of hopelessness. If you wanted to get sympathy, you would have to play hard and scrap for balls. You had to play the game no matter what; if you went in knowing you would lose, you would. She had seen it the hard way the prior season against Bakura, and everyone knew how that embarrassment ended.

So there was only one thing to do: forget the past and move on. That’s why Briar Thorne was here, that’s why she had made this roster to her liking, and this was why Christine had to lead a revolution of her own. It would be one to rage against the machine of the favored elite teams, the Bakuras, the Mandalores, the “Bakura-lite” Monarchs . . . all rivals, all dominant against the Senators. 5 straight to the Miners, 4 straight to the Mercs, 6 of 8 to the Monarchs . . . those strings had to end if this revolt was to be more than just a footnote in the next season’s league media guide. The captain had to take a page from captains gone by to lead this team to victory, no matter the odds. The league said they couldn’t do it, and the evidence was everywhere. They were too young, too many rookies, washed-up veterans playing major roles on the team, pathetic captain. She would have to get her team to respond to each one of those in turn if they were to be successful.

The real question was if this team could be competitive. Christine had her doubts ever since the team had been built, but she had kept them to herself. And there was no way she was alone in those thoughts; the galaxy shared them. After all, what kind of hope did you have if you had to pin 12 rookies onto a roster like this? Only a few teams had done so much with so little experience coming in. Teams with weak leadership never went anywhere. Those captains who had never done much had been lost to history or had their names slandered long after their careers ended, many in merciful fashion at the point of rock bottom lows. Limmie was an unforgiving game, and at its highest stage, anything went, and those who couldn’t keep up got run over.

So there was only one thing to do in the captain’s mind. She had to start her revolution, just like the title of the rivalry game she was about to embark upon, and make some waves. Because no one else had the opportunity like her right now to get things done. Another long losing season was not what she wanted, because she had had more than her fair share of losing. Now was the time to win. Now was the time for the rookies to get their asses in gear and show the galaxy why they belonged here in the Elite League. To come back from nothing, that was the goal. And that would all start by breaking down the barriers that kept the Senators captive, the rivalry record. Then it was on to challenging the League at large, to give them a taste of their own bitter medicine. She wanted to challenge the Bakura-and-Mando-loving Commissioner who no one on Coruscant liked, to stick it to his pretty boy face by beating his prized franchises in convincing fashion. That was the ultimate goal, to finally be the lethal force that they should have been in prior years, the team that would run over the others like they were simple speed bumps.

It may have been a game over an axe rivalry trophy, but the Revolutionary War symbolized so much more. It had to be the start to something big, something galaxy-shattering. And that started by sinking a rival. Stoney End couldn’t save the Patriots from Christine Gamble, not here on Coruscant. They were on her turf, and she was going to make sure their players got a face full of it by the time they were done.


TAG: No One

 

GM Post

What We Learned: Week 1

We all know that one week of play is an absurdly small sample size. Or so the statistics interns tell us. However, let’s draw wild conclusions from it all the same!

Bakura Miners – Alana Glencross is going to retire after showing she can still utterly dominate a game? Suuuuuuuuuure. And the Miners aren’t an evil empire rampaging through the galaxy.

Carratos Pirates – We’re not going to call the All-In dead, especially not after a tight loss, and already Geoff Copin has shown that it’s a flexible formation. We shall watch the progress of these Pirates with great interest.

Chandrila Patriots – Reina Kether might have blustered her way into the Elite League, but beating the defending champions shows that they actually belong here.

Coruscant Senators – No one ever said that the rebuild was going to happen in one game. They just might have hoped it would have.

Denon Demons – Sometimes Li Roy Jinkins seems like an idiot with the way he just charges into situations. Then he puts up points and you start wondering if he’s actually a genius.

Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – Tendra Nalo might not be the answer to all of the Bucs problems.

Kashyyyk Rangers – For a team that was once an LFL team, the Rangers look like they haven’t suffered for the experience that much. Maybe if the Rangers go all the way teams are going to clamor to join the LFL?

Mando’ade Mercs – So...yeah...how’s Jeem Daryc’s holo going? He’s not looking to maybe come back any time soon, is he?

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – There’s a big gulf between being a good player and being a good coach. It’s not an unbridgeable one but it’s one that Mylessa McCloud needs to start working on. Fast.

Ralltiir Starkillers – Now that’s what great limmie looks like. It comes down to the wire. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Last season has shown that Vesper Lynd isn’t the reason that the Monarchs’ offense ground to a halt. But hey, let’s blame her anyways!

Ylesia Lightning – Rework the Lightning to bring in more offense? Why when the old formula works just fine!

We apologize for the late column, but today was a holiday, you know.

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

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Keldabe, Mandalore

Geoff looked out over the Capital city of Mandalore or Mando’ade as the locals preferred to call it. It felt different than O’pahz, safer, if he was being honest the lowest slums on Courscant felt safer than O’pahz. What that Bothan said on Ralltiir stuck with the coach, how The Board could make his life unpleasant if he denied any of their whims. He was rather attached to his kneecaps and every other part of his body really. He wondered about quitting. Just leaving the Pirates and Carratos behind, take a job working for the Demons or the Mercs if they’d have him but, then he’d have to deal with coming back to a dangerous planet where everyone thinks you’re a traitor or a sellout. That could be more detrimental to his health than whoever The Board is.

His eyes gazed another massive stadium, the Mesh'la Vhetin which apparently means Beautiful Field. Would it still remain so after the Pirates leave? He could see it in his team they were itching for payback against their Skywalker rivals. The players that went thought that embarrassing loss in the conference final, were steamed about it, especially Logan. The young forward has had a few bones to pick with this team. Geoff hoped it didn’t come to blows like it nearly did in the final. Logan does not need a suspension right now and the Pirates don’t need a fight on marring their already poor reputation. Hopefully Vayan and Rime would keep their Human line mate’s head on straight. The coach wondered what he would have done without those two. Sure Logan got all the accolades and awards but, Rime setup most of the goals and Vayan was there to finish them if the hotshot failed. Another weapon in the Barabel’s arsenal was his wicked kick. It was almost like he could put the ball anywhere he needed it to be, bar point, goal, another player, if it came off his foot it would go there. The two front line veterans also brought the all-important intangible skill of experience, and a cool head that comes with age.

A shiver ran up his spine thinking about playing Tian in the upcoming game, it would be a disaster. The Pantoran had picked up on the team’s emotions and was playing in her aggressive mode, while she became a decent offensive threat, her aggression didn’t stop at the whistle, often getting in the faces of her defenders. The confrontation was broken up before it had a chance to escalate but, the coach could see it in the rookie player’s eyes, she wanted to fight, it was like something was trying to get out of her. If she played against a team as hard as the Mercs, she’d be a ticking time bomb. Geoff would never know which hit would set her off and knowing their opposition this week they wouldn’t back down from a challenge. His thoughts drifted to if a fight should break out, Mauntak, would get involved, and then Logan most defiantly, followed closely by Mikia. It would be a chain reaction of massive portion. The only question would be how many injuries before the refs break it up.

Geoff’s comlink buzzed ,

“Yeah Schintt, It’s a little late for a call, I getting ready to turn in, game tomorrow and all that.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” The Balosar GM said, an uncertainty entering his voice, “I’ve been asked to have you start Tian.” Geoff’s eyes go wide,

“Come again,” He responded, with a hard edge in his words.

“Certain persons would like Tian to start in tomorrow’s game to evaluate her skills for themselves.”

“They can take my word for it she is nowhere near ready for a game, especially this one. Too much energy surrounding the team, it’ll end badly for everyone.”

“They are rather insistent and I must insist as well, there’s no harm in letting these people see how terrible she is.”

“No, we can’t go down two games this early, we need to find our momentum and beat the rest of the league like we did last year. Tian would throw off the balance we created.”

“You’re putting me in a very difficult place Geoff, these people hold great sway over the team.”

“You told me once that they were smart enough to let you handle things.”

“That was back when we were last in the league, now we’re contenders for the cup, and everyone wants a piece of the glory. I’ve done my best but, I can no longer keep them at bay. Please Geoff, just one game, play her for just one game.” The coach made a fist with his right hand. His boss was more or less telling him to throw the game to keep the backers happy. Was this his life now? A puppet coach bound to the shortsighted whims of a shadowy group of ‘entrepreneurs’. What could they hope to gain by playing an unproven rookie? Who wanted to see her play? Could it be that ‘Auntie’ Tian talked to at the space port on Ralltiir? Geoff’s mind was filled with questions and anger. He never signed on for this, he just wanted to provide for his family and coach limmie. He didn’t want to play politics with people he’d never even met. Quitting was looking like a better and better option.

“Fine,” the coach said acquiescing, “I’ll start her but, only for a few minutes, any longer and we’d risk an all-out brawl breaking out.” He heard Schintt click his teeth.

“I’m not sure it will be enough to satisfy.”

“It will have to be, you hired me to coach a winning team, not be some piece in a game where I can’t see the field.”

“Believe me Geoff I never wanted any of this, if I could have avoided it I would’ve. I never wanted you to get caught up in this mess. Please just this once, play along.” Geoff rested his forehead against the window facing out into the city. What should he do? Resist and bring an unknown fate upon himself, or give into their insane demands and lose the game? Neither was good and there didn’t seem to be a middle ground. He hung up without giving an answer and continued to stare out the window. This was madness, what was he going to do?

TAG: Bardan_Jusik

 

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IC: Mylessa McCloud
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers Practice Facility

“Take a good long look at this holo,” Mylessa said as she prowled the training field with the Smuggler’s offense in agony on the ground after a brutal training session.

The holo was of the 278 Nar Shaddaa Smugglers championship team. A gaping hole where Kaitlyn Vehn should’ve been: the victory formation and the closing of an era. That had been an incredible year, so much to celebrate and so much to cry about all in the span of a few months. That had been a team worthy of hoisting the Cup in victory. A good portion of the team from that championship run was still around but the offense had largely been reworked out of necessity.

“Take a good long look,” Mylessa repeated, “because the way we played against Denon isn’t going to cut it against Rydonni Prime, against Mando’ade, against Coruscant, against Bakura, hell, the entire league. I have never seen such a sorry display of
offensive ineptitude in my life. You know whose fault that is?”

Nobody spoke up.

“Mine. That fault, that burden, that responsibility, rests on my shoulders,” McCloud replied pointing at herself. “And I’m sorry. I expected you to pick up the scheme right away. To get in my head and to know what I’m thinking. That might’ve worked when I wore the burgundy and black as a player but it will not cut it as your offensive coordinator. So this is what we’re going to do…”

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Six Boroughs Stadium

Home game against Rydonni Prime

“You ready?” McCloud yelled down the tunnel at the team she had helped assemble.

“Ready!” came the heated reply.

“We’ve beaten them where it hurt the most: the Galactic Cup Final. Two times,” McCloud held up her hands to showcase two fingers.

“We can do it again,” Jayla Leed said pumping the team up with hard hits on the back as she walked between the players she’d anchored for a few years now.

“One quick slice across the throat,” Shady Lerouex growled.

“One kick they’ll never forget,” Erin Windreaver added.

“You know what you need to do. You know what we came here to do. Be brave, my friends, be brave, because they’re going to come out hitting hard. They played us hard in both Finals. Remember that. They went toe to toe with the best and came this
close,” Mylessa said showing inches between fingertips.

“Let’s go!” Jayla yelled as the team took to the pitch.

Mylessa reached out for ‘Reaver’ and brushed past her arm. Reaver paused and looked at Mylessa.

“You be careful out there, okay?”

“I will,” Erin responded as she too hit the pitch.

Tag:CPL_Macja