Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

IC: Madelyne Till

Ty was the first starter to be pulled. T.J. didn’t understand and Lucie tried to explain that his father was having an off day. I blamed myself. I should have listened to Trey. I should have at least tried to talk him out of playing. I was hoping it would be healing for him to go out there and contribute to a win. I didn’t have much time to worry about Ty though. Even after he left the game points continued to be scored against us.

As the points built up against us I missed Martin more and more. He would have stayed. I could have taken Tomas and Louise home. We could go to bed, pretend like this night never happened. It wouldn’t be my problem. Tonight I was stuck here. Leaving early wasn’t an option for the General Manager. It would look like I was giving up on my own team. Luckily I had a daughter and a daughter in law there with me. We all had spouses on the team. We stuck it out together as a family.

I’m not sure why I went down to the locker room before the game ended. Part of me was worried that Trey would be in a foul mood and there would be nothing I could say that would help. I watched on a monitor as Trey ran out to midfield to shake hands with Mylessa McCloud. He smiled brightly and the Ralltiirian commentator slammed him for his lack of concern for the loss.

Most of the players walked into the locker rooms with their heads hung. Trey was the last to enter, he spotted me right away. He walked briskly in my direction, kissed me on the forehead and then kissed Louise on the top of her head. She was sleeping soundly in the wrap on my chest. “You want to address the team?” He asked me.

“I just came to check on you. And Ty,” I admitted. Ty had already taken a seat on a bench and was unlacing his cleats. My eyes wandered to Andres who had just slammed a fist into his locker. Then to Bartholomew as he began furiously removing items from his locker.

Trey didn’t hesitate he hopped right up on the bench to address his team. “Sometimes you have a bad day,” he explained. “As far as losses go this is about as rough as they come. I want you to know I’m proud of you. We could have lost our heads out there. Somehow we managed to come out of this in one piece. No one is injured and no one is in danger of suspension from the league. Your day off tomorrow stands. Take it. Spend time with your loved ones, clear your minds and if you need come talk. My door will be open all day. You have a problem, no matter how small I want to hear it. And when you report to practice the following morning, expect to have your asses kicked. We will not lose again next week. Understood?”

“Yes Coach,” it wasn’t a resoundingly strong response, but every player at least nodded in confirmation of Trey’s words.

The day following the loss to the Smugglers was Spencer’s 17th birthday. I wanted to call him first thing, but he was in class. It was mid afternoon on Tatooine. I made breakfast for Tomas, Trey and I. I ate mine with one hand while I propped a bottle of milk for Louise with the other hand. We left the house together in one speeder. Our strategy being that no one would be able to work overtime if we all only had one speeder to return home in. We dropped Tomas at school and headed to the stadium. I carefully unstrapped, cradled and carried a soundly sleeping Louise to my office. I placed her in a bassinet next to my desk and began to scroll through expense and profit reports as they came in from yesterday’s game. Concession sales had suffered during the second half. Souvenir sales after the game had also been weaker than usual.

I had never realized the financial fallout a team could take from losing. I knew we were a long way from hitting the panic button though. As I was reading through order requests and signing off on larger credit amounts I heard a large belch followed by a frantic cry coming from the bassinet. Poor baby up chucked more than half her breakfast. I did my best to wipe her up in my office, but it was no use. The smelly white liquid was all over her. It was even in her hair. She was screaming, I retrieved my diaper bag from a corner of the room and carried Louise to the locker room. I used a hand sink as a makeshift bath tub. Once she was calmed, clean and dressed in new clothes I repacked my bag and headed back past the lockers as I headed back to my office.

There in front of Ty’s locker stood T.J., marker in hand. He was coloring Ty’s locker. I panicked. Most of the time Ty was an easy going father. All the same I had seen Ty get angry with his son. Lucie mentioned Ty had even, on occasion, physically punished T.J. After the events of the last few days I had no idea how Ty was going to react.

“T.J. where are your parents?” I asked startling him.

“Daddy is with Coach. Mommy went to the doctor,” he answered.

“Does your daddy know where you are?” I asked.

Just then I heard footsteps running towards us. I looked up to see Ty enter the locker room. He wasn’t angry. A smile was on his face. “I couldn’t have pranked you better if I had tried,” Ty said through laughter. “You should see the look on your face,” Ty was pointing at me.

T.J. put down his marker and pointed at me as well. “Look at Grandma,” he said.

At the sight of T.J.’s mimicking Ty laughed even harder. “So you knew T.J. was in here coloring your locker?” I asked perplexed.

“It’s a white board maker,” Ty said with a shrug. “Trey and I wanted to talk alone. We were watching him on the security cams.”

“Oh, Well I need to call Spencer. Can’t let him think his own mother forgot his Birthday.”

T.J. wanted to see his uncle, so he and Ty joined me. As we passed Trey’s office Ty called his coach to come as well. So we all gathered in my office and made the call to Spencer.

“Happy Birthday,” I greeted when Spencer’s face appeared on the conference screen in my office.

“How’s it feel to be 17?” Ty asked cheerfully.

“Happy Birthday Spencer,” T.J. called from the plush chair behind my desk. The sight of the three year old gave us all a good laugh. “What’s so funny?” T.J. demanded.

“You,” Ty declared approaching his son. “Do you run this organization or something? Who said you could sit in Grandma’s chair?” He asked as he began to tickle T.J.

As T.J. fought to escape from his father’s grasp I looked back towards Spencer. “How’s School?” I asked.

“Easy, I’m going to go for a double major. Next semester after Limmie season I ‘m going to take droid design.”

I couldn’t help but smile. It was the best feeling as a mom when one of your children went after a goal or found something that made them happy. “Hey Spencer,” Trey called out from the corner of the room where he stood with crossed arms. “Tell Yolanda not to give up down there. Let her know that I saw her game last week and if my offense crashes again this week like they did last week. I’m calling her up.”

“Yes, Coach.”

“I have a surprise for you,” I told Spencer.

“Oh, I already got the care package mom. It was great. Your cookies survived the travel and tasted just like they were fresh out of the oven at home. Thanks!”

“No she has another surprise,” Trey said. “Your mom, brother and sister are coming to spend the weekend with you.”

Spencer looked shocked. “Tomas is going to miss a Limmie game to visit me on Tatooine?” He asked.

“Tomas misses you and so do I,” I explained. "He and I have never seen the Sandskimmer facilities or seen one of their games live. This is the perfect opportunity. Don’t forget Tomas has a birthday this week too. We can celebrate as a family.”

“I’d like that,” Spencer said. Spencer looked in Ty’s direction. “I was sorry to hear about your loss,” he said.

“Thanks kid.”

“Tell Bill he’s doing a great job,” Trey said to help break the awkward silence. “Tell him not to let your mother’s beauty distract him this week.”

I blushed and Spencer laughed. He excused himself to study. An hour or so later Lucie stopped by to visit. “What did the doctor say?” I asked anxiously.

“Two more weeks,” Lucie said impatiently as she patted her belly.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go to Tatooine? What if the baby comes early?”

“Mom, go. T.J. and I have already made arrangements to stay with Mrs. Allin. If the baby comes early I am sure she can handle it. It will mean a lot to Spencer and I know you miss him.”

I gave Lucie a hug and made her promise to bring T.J. and Ty for dinner the night before I left.

I was told that Bat had to literally drag Fortune off the field to come to dinner. Trey and Ty were surprisingly early. “It’s a big game against the Mercs,” Trey said. “As big as they come after that fiasco last week. We’ve done all we can to prepare for it. Besides there are more important things in life than Limmie. Like family.”

“I like the way you put it earlier,” Bat interjected. “The only thing more important than Limmie is family.”

Fortune sat down next to Justyne and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Sometimes coach is right,” he conceded.

Dinner went by all too quickly. Frantically I tried to straighten the house and pack the belongings that Louise and I would need for our trip. My mind raced with anxiousness. “Come on,” Trey called from upstairs. “Louise is asleep.”

“I just know I’m forgetting something,” I said when I got up to the bedroom.

“Whatever it is, they sell it on Tatooine,” Trey assured me.

“How can you be so calm?” I asked Trey. “You have the whole planet breathing down your neck after last week.”

“I’m not calm,” Trey said letting a nervous laugh escape. “I don’t want to get embarrassed out there like we did last week again in my career. As a coach, player or owner, that was ugly. My job now is to move forward. Be a leader and overcome. Before I step on the shuttle to Mandalore to do all those things. Would it be too much to ask you to share my bed?”

“Of course not.”



Tomas, Louise and I traveled to Tatooine on Bat’s private ship. We traveled with a full detail of security. It was better than flying commercial but I was happy to land. Bill and Spencer were waiting at the spaceport. While we waited for a safety seat to be installed in my rental speeder Bill thanked me for the opportunity to coach the Sandskimmers. Spencer asked to hold his sister, then he carried her out of my hearing range to catch up with his brother. Bill warned me that heat outside would be like nothing I had ever experienced. When our speeder was finally ready to go and I stepped outside I realized he was right.

I followed Bill to the stadium. We took a tour and sampled a restaurant in the stadium for a late lunch. Permanent shade structures were assembled over the home and away benches. I sat and watched the final practice before the Sandskimmers took on the Firedrakes the following evening.

Tomas and Spencer gave me their opinions on each individual. There were so many questions. What position would Yolanda play if we moved her up? Center Forward was Bat’s position. The Knott twins would test free agency, but would any team pick up a set of midfielders? Lowatha was also developing rapidly and need to be watched. Defensively Drif and Sichi had picked up their game since being moved down. Most likely in hopes of testing their worth in free agency as well.

After practice we celebrated Tomas and Spencer’s birthdays at a restaurant in downtown Bestine. Tomas asked to go spend the night with Spencer in his dorm. He was devastated when I wouldn’t allow it. The Starkillers game would be played mid morning local time. In an effort to make up for Tomas’ disappointment in having to spend the night in a hotel with his mother and sister over a dorm room at Tattoine U I allowed Spencer to take the rental speeder so he and Tomas could eat breakfast out together alone.

Bill picked me and Louise up and took us to the stadium. The plan was to meet Tomas and Spencer there so we could watch the Starkillers play the Mercs as a family. Bill had a few players move some sofas into the training room so we could watch the game on the projection screen. I went to the make shift dance studio. The dancers gave me and Louise a warm welcome. They all took turns holding Louise while I was able to show the young ladies a few of my own signature moves. After hitting the showers I raced upstairs to catch the kick off. When I got to the training room it was empty. I continued down the hall towards Bill’s office. “Where are the boys?” I asked when I got there.

“You mean they aren’t here yet?” He asked looking up from his desk.

I immediately dialed Spencer’s data pad, no one picked up. I tried Tomas and got the same result.

“They are probably just stuck in traffic,” Bill said calmly. “I’ll put the game on for you, I’m sure they’ll be along any minute now.”

Tags: @Vehn @Bardan_Jusik @jcgoble3

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Royal Limmie Grounds, Hapes, Visitor’s Locker Room

Christine kept the temperature bag on her knee as she sat in a standard locker stall. She wore a team jacket and sweatpants, her sprained knee keeping her out of this game. It was the first of five in a row on the road for the Senators, which would be an impossible task for the young team. The circumstances frustrated Christine; she wanted to play here today, wanted to intimidate the Hapes forwards. That was how she played the game, and her knee just wouldn’t let her. It sucked to be hurt.

In the stead of her injury, the coaching staff had indeed decided to let rookie Kelly Vurgess start her first career game. While it looked like a good PR move to let the Hapan player make her first start on her homeworld, or at least in front of her own people, it also was a good business decision. Christine had talked things over with Sutton Millard after the naming of Vurgess as the starter; Millard felt a little miffed, yes, but she knew that she wouldn’t have been signed onto the team if it had not been for the injury to Rickard Herman in training camp, and that she was the depth signing. So the veteran corner back had taken it in stride; Vurgess was the likely future for the Senators, and needed playing time. Playing in front of the Hapan crowd would hopefully get her going.

After Christine had been placed on the disabled list, the Senators had made two personnel moves going into the road trip. Briar Thorne wanted to make a few moves, and had found a good reason to call up a spare defensive back to cover depth behind Vurgess and Millard. Welnlseh, a Selkath who had been an undrafted free agent signing several years before, had never really been considered an ace prospect. However, the improving play of the Thyferra Force defense in the Futures League seemed to suggest that the defenders there had some value. So the Selkath would make his debut on the road trip, perhaps in this game. The other move was to send down struggling reserve forward Callie Polarez, a former third-round pick, and call up Syra Kuna from the Force. Kuna and her sister, Litan, had been signed to minor-league deals just a few weeks earlier, months after Thorne cut them loose in the offseason from the Senator roster. With no one else picking them up, and the Senators needing some experienced players, the sisters had decided to sign. Syra had torched opposing teams in the Futures League in just three games, and thus had gotten the call-up. There were questions of why Harper Rice, an unsigned free agent out of UBSD didn’t get the call up instead, but Thorne was unwavering in saying that the Senators needed an experienced player to come off the bench. Rice would get his shot, just not now. The big question was how Kuna would do without her sister at her side; they had always played together, and now they were in different leagues on different worlds.

And then there was Leia Adama being the new team captain. The third-year forward looked nervous as she paced around the locker room, but Christine hoped she would snap out of that funk and get it in gear. She had to have faith in Leia, because she couldn’t be of any help in this game or the next two. The top overall pick in the 278 Draft had to show what she was made of. The players had made her an assistant captain, so it was time for her to make the next step to full captain.

Finally Leia said something to the other players. “Gather around,” she said. The others gradually filed into line, but the forward still looked extremely nervous. She shot a look over to Christine, who still hadn’t budged from her spot. Christine simply nodded; it was the Leia Adama show now.

“We’ve got a tough game today,” Leia began. “The C-Bucs are going to want to beat us at every stage of the game. We can’t let them do that.” She nervously scratched her chin as she spoke. It was apparent to Christine that the forward was unsure of how she could control an entire team as captain. Dirxx Horstse she was not. She shot another glance over to Christine, who mouthed “Keep going”.

“Um . . . we can’t let Tendra Nalo beat us. Defense, you have to hold down the fort,” Leia continued. “We’re missing our usual captain, so I’m going to do the best I can to fill in for her until she gets back.”

It was a nervous speech from a first-time leader at this level. Christine went up to her before the team left the team tunnel to head out onto the field. “First time was rough, eh?” Christine asked.

“Yeah, Cap,” Leia said. “I got up there, and my mind went blank.”

“Maybe pregame speeches aren’t your thing. I know they come a little easier for me,” Christine admitted.

“But a good captain needs to have motivational speeches ready,” Leia whined.

Christine didn’t reply, but instead stuck her finger into the spot on Leia’s uniform where the newly-stitched ‘C’ was attached. “See this? This means the other players have to respect you, or I’ll get on their case for you. I gave you this commission because I know you’ve got it in you to lead this team. I’ve seen it in practice and in games. You just need to believe in yourself, got that? Just three games, and I’ll hopefully be back. So no pressure. Besides, I think it’ll get easier once the game gets going, and you forget about the speech. Let your play do the talking; I didn’t take a speech class in college just to tell a bunch of Limmie players how to be motivated. It’s gotta come from your actions, not your words. Again, let your play do the talking for you, and it’ll get easier once the game starts.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. So go out there and kick some Hapan ass for me, OK?” Christine asked. Leia smiled.

“OK, I’ll do that.”

“Good luck . . . captain,” Christine said.

Despite Christine Gamble not being the best captain, she was at least trying to do what she could to make sure her successor, even for just a few games, would have her best game face on. That was all she could do, since she would be sidelined the entire game. It was up to her teammates to bring this game home today. She could do no more to help them than to encourage them on.

Christine sat on the bench right before the game started to continue icing her knee. It felt a little better than when she injured it the week prior, but it was still a struggle.

“Do you think we have a chance on this road trip?” Chestnut Reeser asked as the Selonian sat down next to Christine.


“I don’t know,” Christine said. “We can only hope that Leia gets the team in gear and that we start off on the right foot today.”

TAG: jcgoble3

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Ylesia

It had been a long flight to the Outer Rim planet for the Pirates next game their last away game. After losing their home opener the team was looking for a win. Geoff wanted to give them that. He worked on the new plan on his data-pad. It would use the same sort of strategy as the ‘All In’ except this time the team converges on a spot in the middle of the offensive zone. The forwards run figure eight patterns passing between themselves, until the defense is good and confused. Then one of the forwards breaks out of the group and charges the net. The player that breaks would have to be Logan or Rime for a goal but, any of the other players would stand a better chance of making a bar point. Though this plan would be difficult against Urdaaza maybe a one-on-one show down would tip things in the attackers favor.

Another worry was Rhodri, the halfback had always had a problem with Ylesia, his issues with Nar Shaddaa seemed to have been worked out. Maybe playing with Ponie has brought him around to viewing the Smugglers moon in a new light. It was still unknown if his thoughts have changed on a team owned by a Hutt. Bestide had stepped up in the past and had played well, when the large Klatoonian was benched, and is ready to take his place again, in fact she’s expecting it. The coach wondered if it would do any good to talk to Rhodri about the subject.

Another thing that weighed on his mind was the run in with the Bothan. He said to expect an attack on the coach’s person or reputation. It wasn’t his fault that somebody, most likely Logan, decided to memorialize the CT 29. Were these people that vindictive that they would hurt themselves, figuratively just to get a little retribution. Geoff at one time thought he understood Carratos, if he kept out of trouble, trouble wouldn’t get him. He was apparently wrong about that assessment. It seems the planet wants to corrupt and destroy everything good. He sat down on a sofa and leaned his head back, sighing deeply as he did so. Part of him wanted a stiff drink, something to take the edge off his mind. He knew that wouldn’t solve anything besides, he hadn’t had a drop of alcohol since last season’s game against Coruscant and he didn’t want to break a sort of silent promise to his wife.

After the incident with Leigh two years ago, and his reaction to it, Laura had become worried about Geoff’s coping mechanisms, at least the ones that involve alcohol. Her reasons for worry were understandable given her family’s history with the substance. It came from a dark time in her life when her father’s job was going horribly so he drank to forget his troubles. This made him distant from his family especially his wife, who started imbibing a little on the side just to dull the pain. Little Laura was trapped in the middle until her grandparents intervened taking her away from the fast deteriorating situation.

Losing their little one was apparently enough to wake the parents up to what they were doing. Despite everything, they still loved her very much but, it was hard to show that love though all the booze. After that time no alcohol entered their house and her parents never touched the stuff again. As Laura grew up she found she hated the taste and thus never drank herself. She accepted the fact that Geoff only drank occasionally and was fine with in, until he went off the deep end. If he was honest, the binge drinking he took part in that night three years ago probably hurt worse than the sight of him with Leigh.

Geoff crawled into the bed trying to let go of the thing long past, he needed to be in the here and now.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Peace City Gardens, Ylesia
Game Day

The week of practice for the ‘Breakout’ plan had come and gone, the true test was now upon them. The ‘Boarding Party’ attack had failed to carry the day against the Monarchs, and this new attack was just as risky. Urdaaza and Penin were top notch goalkeepers, very little was going to get by them but, with the containment of the ‘Tower’ formation maybe the struggling Pirates can keep the pressure on the defense. Another question hung in the air, who would play center half back, for the Black and White. Rhodri was the usual choice but, his issues with Ylesia were well known. Looking at him now in their stadium, you can see his seething anger. In that moment Geoff made the call,

“Bestide, you in center half back.” The veteran defender nodded her head, it was the first chance to play this season, and she was excited. Rhodri merely stared at the floor tapping his cleats against the duracrete. Mikia turned to talk to him but he just held up his hand. Slowly, begrudgingly he nodded his head. It was apparent that he wanted to stick it to the Otta the Hutt on his on turf but, the coach had seen how much his anger affected his and the others play. Unfortunately for Rhodri, Geoff was in no mood to put his plan at any more risk or to take more chances than he already was. “All right team let’s get back on track then return home and smash every remaining opponent, you hear me,”

“Aye Cap’n”

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels

 

IC: Mylessa McCloud
Ralltiir

​

The home crowd at Financial Square Arena had long since left, in fact, the game was completely over and for some reason Mylessa McCloud stood on the sidelines, clipboard in hand, staring at the torn up grass remembering what it had been like for her to play the game and come off a thrilling road victory. Those memories were precious. They were the few good spots in a rough patch of other memories that she’d wanted to bury for the longest time. It had taken her years to build the persona of Mylessa McCloud, the professional limmie player, the beautiful one, the talented one, the indisposable member of a high flying Smuggler attack.

Deep down, Mylessa McCloud knew it hadn’t always been that way…

---

269 ABY

Coruscant

Public School # 146

“You don’t want to pick her, she’s trouble,” a Rodian commented to his friend during physical education class in a pick-up game of limmie.

“Heard she nearly got expelled last week for fighting,” a Gran added.

“She doesn’t fit in around here, she’s weird,” a female Twi’lek sneered. “She’s got those slanted eyes, how can she even see?”

“Heard her Mom’s a spice addict, crazy Lola, that’s what they call her. Hey, foster kid, nobody wants you,” an Aqualesh said shoving McCloud aside.

15 year old Mylessa McCloud curled her hands into fists. She knew she could take them all on. They thought they were really something else. They thought that because they’d grown up with “normal” families they could tease her all they wanted about how she didn’t know her parents, how nobody wanted her, how her mother had made a bad name for herself in this part of the urban sprawl. That hurt, that rejection, that cut deeper than anything else in her life. Although she knew her foster parents did their best for her they were unfortunately not her biological parents and that kind of connection, that kind of feeling, didn’t go away easily, no matter what happened in life. That feeling of belonging superseded anything else, even the worst home environments, even the worst situations. She wanted her mother to love her. Was that too much to ask?

She’d tried to act tough on the outside but the teasing, the bullying, it was really getting to her and hit her hard in the gut. More than any physical blows she’d taken or received. She felt as if her life was spiraling out of control. Her grades were slipping and she hated this school. She hated the other kids. Sometimes she hated her very existence. She hadn’t acted on her depression. She hadn’t acted on her feelings, but she was close and all it would take was one more hurtful word, one more hurtful action, and it’d all be over.

“Look at her,” the Rodian said, “she’s getting mad! What you going to do, Mylessa? You going to cry? You’re pathetic.You should just kill yourself now and get it over with.”

Mylessa felt her face tighten, squeeze, tears were nearly there but she couldn’t show them, not now, not here. She turned and she ran as the laughter of the kids followed her down the halls of her high school and out into the courtyard. She headed to the only place she knew, the only safe place on this campus, a small gazebo built into the green space of the school. The green space was a little secluded, it was a little quiet, and rarely used. She collapsed onto a bench and clinched her stomach as she sobbed.

“My life is over…” Mylessa quietly whispered to the wood structure around her. “I should never have been born.”

“That’s a shame,” a feminine voice said from behind Mylessa, “because the way I saw you fight last week shows me that you clearly value something about your life.”

Mylessa turned and looked into the eyes of the girl who was speaking to her. She was tall, wiry, and yet fit. Her jet black hair was very similar to Mylessa’s and there was a look of fire in her eyes. She had the look of someone who was battling their own demons and was winning that battle very single day of her life.

“What do you know about it?” Mylessa asked.

The girl pointed to a bruise on her face. “Recognize this?”

“Should I?”

“You put it there, McCloud.”

“Well you probably deserved it,” Mylessa responded.

The girl shook her head and laughed, “No, the guy next to me did, but the way you swing away, the way you attack without thought, I got to say I like your fire.”

“I don’t have any fire,” Mylessa replied. “Fire went out years ago.”

“That’s not what I see. I see a beautiful person whose just not using her talents. You’re good out there when we play limmie in P.E. You may not see it but the rest of those slackers get out of your way when you’ve got the ball. They’re bullying you because they’re afraid of you, McCloud. Don’t let them get to you. Don’t let them sucker you into getting expelled. It’s not worth it. Believe me. Besides, you never know where your career could take you, for all you know you could be the next John Huntington,” the girl said.

Mylessa dried her tears on her shirt sleeve. “Did you just say John Huntington?”

The girl sat down next to her and nodded her head, “Don’t tell anyone but I bleed burgundy and black. The rest of these chumps are diehard Senators fans but they don’t know what’s coming to them. There’s a storm coming in the eastern galaxy, McCloud, and that storm is called the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers.”

“I love the Smugglers,” Mylessa said with a laugh. That felt good. That was a healthy release. “I’ll never forget seeing that Cup raised above John Huntington’s head, the way Meredith Chambers celebrated across the pitch, the roar of that crowd as the Smugglers won it all. I knew in that moment that I wanted to be just like them. I knew in that moment that I wanted to play professional limmie so bad.”

“Tryouts are next week,” the girl said, “you should come out. I’m going to play middie. Coaches like my legs.”

“You think I’d be good?”

“Yeah, I do,” the girl responded. “I really do.”

“Forward,” Mylessa blurted out, “I want to play forward. I want to put fear into my enemies hearts. I want people to have to game plan around me. From this day forward, nobody pushes me around, nobody.”

“That’s the spirit,” the girl replied, “I knew I saw something special in you. You’re one of the coolest people at this school.”

“You’re pretty cool too, Mylessa replied, “and I don’t even know your name.”

“They call me ‘Reaver’ but my full name is Erin Marie Windreaver,” Erin replied.

“You sound deadly,” Mylessa said.

“I am,” Erin replied. “The deadliest catch of them all.”

“Thanks,” Mylessa said, “for listening to me today. I guess someone upstairs was listening. I really needed someone to talk to and there you were.”

“I’ll always have your back, McCloud, I can’t guarantee that I can fix you but I know that together we can really do something special," Erin said.

“Promise?” Mylessa asked.

Erin drew Mylessa into an embrace.

“I promise,” Erin replied as she felt accepted for who she was for the first time since she came to this school.

Tag: No One

 

GM Post

Bonus potential for Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Mando'ade, Nar Shaddaa, and Ralltiir.

280 Week 7 Results

Denon Demons at Bakura Miners (18-36)
Coruscant Senators at Hapes Consortium Buccaneers (23-21)
Kashyyyk Rangers at Rydonni Prime Monarchs (22-18)
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Chandrila Patriots (38-11)
Ralltiir Starkillers at Mando’ade Mercs (22-13)
Carratos Pirates at Ylesia Lightning (6-18)

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

 

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IC: The Rancor Pitt

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on sunny and hot, hot, hot Taungsday afternoon. 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 baby do we have a big, big, big show for you."

"Big, big, big?"

"Big, big, big."

"Never thought I would ask you think Randy, but how big is it?"

"Oh it's big." the Zabrak replied coyly to the sound of laughter in the studio. "Later on in the show we've got Mercs GM Adenn Vizsla on, he'll be talking about how he built the Mercs title team of last year, how he sees the team progressing from a front office standpoint this season, and the outlook going forward as it pertains to free agency and the draft."

"Sounds exciting, I still think one of the major points in our favor during last season's playoff run was the sheer number of games played. I think the Mercs conditioning really helped them pull through what was a longer than normal season for everyone."

"Well you'll have to ask him about that!"

"Oh I will."

"We'll also have KMI's athletic director, Ms. Ru Montross on to discuss the spectacular year that Warrior athletics have had over the past year."

"Collegiate Limmie title for them last season, won the SEC Grav-ball tournament to earn a place in the Fantastic Four tournament for just the second time in the past decade..."

"Too bad they ran into that Stewjon team."

"They were a buzzsaw."

"We'll also have the Mand'alor himself on to discuss his induction in the Limmie Hall of Fame and of course all things sports..."

"You think he will address the Roon situation?"

"I hate to bring politics into this show, but lets's face it. He can discuss whatever he wants, he has a fracking flamethrower on his arm."

"Good point, good point."

"Before all that we will have Mercs head coach Ryi Kor'le on the show to discuss this past weekend's loss to the surging Ralltiir Starkillers."

"That was a rough rough game."

"Well it started off well enough."

"It did, I thought the ring ceremony for Rajah Rollko and Melia Soker was great."

"Yeah the fans appreciated seeing them get their championship rings presented to them like that."

"Love the way they booed Fortune when he was introduced."

"And they kept at it each and every time he touched the ball too!"

"It was almost the way they treated Alana Glencross, but different."

"Well he disrespected the team, the fanbase."

"So did Alana early on."

"That was different, she was never a Merc."

"Yeah, plus she is just so..."

"Adorable?"

"Not the word I was looking for, but it will do."

"Well whether the fans respect him or not, Fortune played well enough to bring the Starkillers the win."

"Well, it wasn't just him, the whole Roster really outplayed us."

"Not the whole roster, Tullo and Mauntak did OK."

"Yeah when the Starkillers actually bothered to attack them, but they did what the Demons did and stayed away all game!"

"They really did victimize poor Hadon. That was brutal."

"Even then Katan did all right. But the goal was under attack the entire time. It's a copycat league and the Starkillers ripped us. K'Karlsson better come up with some new defensive wrinkle or that team from Nal Hutta's moon is going to cream us."

"The offense didn't help out either. Too many turnovers, not enough shots on goal. They were what lost us this game."

"The Starkillers defense learned from Denon too!"

"Well losing two starters for the game didn't help."

"Koop'er was completely ineffective, but that wasn't all his fault. he never got the ball!

"He had a total of three touches. No turnovers, but no points or assists either substituting for the suspended Arock."

"Thanks K-Man."

"I think the Lovenivek loss hurt even more than Arock being out."

"He was just starting to really get a feel for the pro game, and his team mates. Even then the spacing he brought was unmeasureable, inmeasureable? I'm not sure. One of those has to be a word."

"It's immeasurable."

"Thanks Liz."

"Yeah thanks." Justin paused for a second. "This was just a tough game. Jaing looked a little lost out there, though the Starkillers kept coming at him."

"He was smothered, smothered!"

"It's a lot like opposing teams would do to us when Daryc ran the offense, but he was a better player than Jaing..."

"More experienced too, remember Jaing is just a rookie."

"True, true. The sky is the limit for that kid, but he didn't seem to have it in this game. He was just over matched."

"You know who looked over matched was Arcus Ariota!"

"He looked terrible out there, just terrible. And with the Starkillers keying in on jaing, Ariota had his chances, he really had a chance to shine."

"If he had we would have won."

"But he didn't. Totally wilted under the pressure."

"He doesn't look long for this league."

"No he doesn't. Thank the gods Vera Langdon is due back this week."

"How much can they play her though? Coming off an injury like that?"

"I'm hearing the Mercs intend to throw her right into the fire, she'll start next week at Nar Shaddaa."

"That's going to be tough. She's going to have to shake off an awful lot of rust, and she won't know just what her knee can take just yet."

"I'm sure the team will be monitoring her minutes and she'll be trying to avoid aggravating the injury, but they need her out there. The Smugglers are charging hard and we can't afford to from three straight."

"Yeah we need to go on a tear ourselves and win another four on a row to round out the season."

"I'll just take a win here and take the games one at a time Randy. We're past the half way mark of the season, but you know this league. Anything can happen."

"Ain't that the truth..."

TAG: Runjedirun, Vehn

 

Sub–GM Post

Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Concordia Crusaders (28), Tatooine Sandskimmers (30), and Thyferra Force (30).

Limmie Futures League – Week 6
Week 6
Gallinore Firedrakes at Tatooine Sandskimmers (8–12)
Byblos Red Wings at Eriadu Thunder (21–13)
Thyferra Force at Concordia Crusaders (7–4)

TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Leia Adama
Royal Limmie Grounds, Hapes Consortium

For all Dad had taught me during the offseason about how to make myself a better player, he hadn’t mentioned how to be an efficient on-field leader. Of course, he wasn’t lacking in that confidence, since who could argue a Galactic Cup title in his career, anyways? I had been a leader once, but not at this level. High school, college, and the pros were all separate animals, and I here I was expected to do something monumental at the highest level of the sport. And it scared the living crap out of me, to be honest.

Here I was, the full forward for a team struggling to find its identity. Sure I was a top overall draft pick, the child prodigy daughter of Declan Adama. Everywhere I went I succeeded, and in college, even though I wasn’t the best forward in the Draft, I somehow got taken first overall. Maybe it was the name recognition, maybe it was just a lucky guess. I will probably never know what went through Gark S’rily’s head when he decided to take me with that pick. He had no connection to Bakura, nothing to go off of since my father played for the Miners, and probably was a little bit crazy. But I made it pay off to the best of my abilities. I hit the ground running my rookie season, scored a lot of goals, and made defenders look foolish more often than not. I won the Ingbrand Award, the first Senator to do that in forever, and was named an All-Pro and All-Star. Hell, I had only played in a handful of games, and I got the highest vote count, tied with Christine Gamble. And to compete with her at anything is usually like signing a death warrant; she just knows how to best you no matter what you do. The pressure didn’t seem to be on me at the time, and things worked out.

But last year, that was rough on everyone. It wasn’t the same when Max went down with that Torn ACL; we never recovered from that one. He was like the rock that kept the offense moving, the Sparrow to my Superbothan, if I could use the S’rily phrase once more. Or maybe I was the Sparrow to his Superbothan. Whatever the case, him being lost in the Ylesia game in Week Two cost us dearly. I started getting double and triple-teamed all the time, and I lost my confidence. I couldn’t score points, and I turned the ball over a lot. It was a far cry from my rookie season when everything felt so simple. There were times where I just wanted to quit, to crawl under a rock and bury my head while the carnage went on outside. That was a rough year.

So I went into the offseason to train myself to do better. Things were tough; Dad was hard on me, saying that I was relying too much on my natural abilities. He wanted me to work on my fundamentals, and how could I refuse it? He’s the one with the Galactic Cup ring on his finger, not me. Obviously he knew what he was talking about. I love my father to death, I really do. He’s a great man, both in Limmie and off the pitch. And he wanted me to make myself better . . . so I did. I worked for weeks on my technique, making myself more physical, adding a few pounds . . . never before have I realized that nerf steak can really be eaten at dinner every night . . . and getting in the right mindset. When I came back for training camp, I was ready to perform. I was an assistant captain, and that put a lot of pressure on. But we had a young team, lots of rookies. Not too different from when I was like them just a few years ago. Everything looks a little bit larger when you’re new, but for some odd reason my offseason work made me feel like a new player again. I wouldn’t have Max to rely on anymore; he had moved on. It was time to make my mark as the top option on offense.

And so I did. I pushed myself during games, got good scoring chances, made plays. I made a few full backs look silly in the process. But there’s something different about being the top option, because everyone looks to you to run the offense. Only a handful of true top options play this game, and I don’t know if I belong with them. At least not yet. I admit that I’ve got a lot to learn still; Dad always said I was one of the best students of the game he had ever known. Heady praise from the man himself, I always told myself. It helped that Zuzu Nuun came along and took some of the pressure off my shoulders. She’s going to be an amazing scorer someday, maybe an All-Star; you’ve heard it here first.

But the biggest challenge of my career came against the Hapes Consortium Buccaneers. It wasn’t just the fact that the team was struggling; a 2-4 record is hardly anything to be proud of. Yes we had played in close games, but any competitor would tell you that it still wasn’t enough. I didn’t feel like we were doing enough; we seemed to lack that killer instinct necessary to win close games. Nar Shaddaa had shown that extra drive in Week Four, Rydonni Prime had exhibited it in Week Three, and Ylesia certainly laid the law down the week before. Those were veteran teams who knew what they had to work with, and used it to great effect. For a young team trying to find its way, it was hard to make sure that everything went smoothly. For being a team of rookies and washed-up veterans cobbled together in the offseason by a first-time GM, we all came into the season not expecting much. There was no way we were going to challenge for the Cup. The postseason seemed like almost an impossible goal. The pundits guessed we would win two games all season, and that such a prediction might be generous.

But you know something? This team, for whatever reason, made 2-4 look good. We have had no right to be in these games on flimsy. Look at the Monarchs, the Patriots, the Smugglers. They had all sorts of advantages over us. But we made games out of each one, save for a bad game against the Lightning. For a young team, we had out-gutted our opponents, made plays to keep even, and had made things interesting. If nothing else, we had resolve. I don’t know if that came from Christine, from someone else, from Briar Thorne, or where it came from. Maybe Gark S’rily wishing upon some far-flung star was making things go well for us.

Hidden in there was the hope that we could indeed compete any given day. That was the overall message the season had taught us. We had talent, and we could play ball. Now it was time to put it all together and make something out of it. And I didn’t want to fail my teammates. With a five-game road trip to finish the season kicking off in the Consortium, I wanted to make sure my failures during the Ylesia game didn’t come back to haunt me. The coaches have always lauded my work in practice, even when things weren’t going well. I’ve always been somewhat of a gym rat, to be honest. I probably work a little too hard for my own good. There’s just something about working out that makes you feel invincible . . .

Oh, right, to why I almost, and I mean this figuratively, crapped my pants against Hapes. When Christine went down in the Ylesia game, we all knew it was big news. She’s been our anchor for years; even when she struggles, she still looks good. Sometimes you can’t tell she’s struggling unless she tells it to your face. She’s a competitor, one of the best I’ve ever known. Even though she thinks she’s not a good team captain, I think the lack of success has messed with her mind. From my side of things, we wouldn’t be 2-4 going into that game if not for her. She had cobbled something together in our team, getting the rookies together and the veterans playing decent ball. Maybe she wasn’t winning games right and left, but she was doing something right.

And against the C-Bucs, it was my job to make things go. I was a nervous wreck going out of the tunnel onto the field, but Christine tried to help me get over that fear. I’ve never been a professional Limmie captain. It’s a prestigious position for anyone who holds it. But the pressure is immense, and I felt it early on. I wasn’t quite sure what to do; what could I say? What should I do? How should I act? Could I play my game and lead at the same time? All those questions floated in my head as the game started.

I felt like a complete dope in the first few minutes. The C-Bucs were hammering away at the defense. They were trying to take advantage of Kelly Vurgess, the Hapan rookie making her first career start in place of Christine. An early goal by the C-Bucs intensified the crowd noise. Although the Royal Limmie Grounds is one of the smallest venues in the league, maybe the second-smallest, I can’t recall, it was enough crowd noise to make me panic for a few moments. I didn’t know what to do, and I turned the ball over the first time I got it. It wasn’t that Pam Bouvier really distracted me from her full back spot; I just botched the play. The pressure got to me.

Gradually I started to get into the flow of the game as usual, and what do you know, Christine was right. It did get easier when I let the play do the talking for me. On an early possession, I completely faked Bouvier out of her cleats and then sent a low kick across the box to Zuzu. The rookie sent a rocket shot off her foot that looked great. It sailed over the bar for a point, and afterwards I said it was a great bar point. Zuzu, of course, said that she was aiming for the goal, and not for a single point. Could’ve fooled me, rookie.

The opening goal by Hapes was eventually matched by our points, and we quickly built a lead. With my head in the game, I started to go into a whole different level. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I felt on top of my game. Maybe this is what Force-wielders feel when they manipulate matter and move things, I thought. I’m pretty sure Dad had me tested for Force sensitivity as a child, and nothing had come up. Even when I didn’t have the ball, I was making plays off the ball. Setting screens, moving the ball, and keeping Bouvier busy, that’s what I did. And other players made the plays they had to. Natasha Ehlers, another rookie, punched in a goal past Ziva Kender, the Hapes goalie. She had a reckless abandon to her game, something I knew I lacked at times. It was something I wanted to work on, knowing when to turn that killer instinct on and off so that it wouldn’t get me into trouble if I overplayed a ball.

Gradually the lead swelled. I scored a goal on Kender after Syra Kuna sent me a nice feed from the corner of the box. It was the kind of play that made you feel like you couldn’t have pulled it off any better. Maybe it wasn’t highlight-reel worthy, but it was a nice goal, all things considered. The defense stiffened up, Vurgess starting to play well. It wasn’t Christine out there, but the young Hapan wanted to prove something in front of her hometown fans. Klay Mettews was turning in another good game; he was the real X-factor on defense for us, even if the league in general didn’t really notice. We had even decided to ignore the rumors of he and Sutton in the equipment room after our last win; after all, he was pretty handsome. In the middle of the field, Alysha Romax, a Royal College of Hapes product and former C-Buc, was taking her matchup to town repeatedly. Maddy Swann, also a Royal College product and a rookie, was soaking in the atmosphere as well. She was getting to play at home for the first time, and it obviously awed her. She still had a lot to learn, though, but that was just an experience thing.

All the while, I was making calls and changing plays. I don’t know where any of that came from; it’s almost like it just appeared in my mind and I barked it out without thinking it through. Sometimes it’s best for Limmie players not to think while they play. Overthinking something can make you lose track of what you’re doing. Then again, you can’t play brainless, either. There have to be limits to how quiet your mind gets when the action starts and your blood gets pumping.

In the second half, the C-Bucs mounted a major rally to try and eke out a win. The defense stiffened on me, and I had some bad plays. We turned the ball over a few times, and it wasn’t what I wanted to see. Meanwhile, Vurgess was starting to struggle again, and her fellow defenders were also unable to keep up with the desperate Hapes attack. Camille Montes, yet another Hapan we have on the team . . . did S’rily and Thorne consciously collect them or something? . . . was withering in goal. I could see that Jam Tarpals was warming up on the sidelines in case he was needed, but I knew he wasn’t the answer we needed. It all started and ended with Montes. We had to hold the line.

During a timeout, with Hapes in the full midst of their rally, I think I finally turned the corner. The nervous wreck I was before the game turned into a battle-hardened veteran. I looked Camille straight in the eyes, and I told her what we needed from her. Then I went around the group; many of them were shocked to see how much difference 50-some minutes of game action could make in my ability to lead the team. But the only being not really shocked was Christine. Although she was wearing sweats and unable to help out with her injured knee, she looked as if this was to be expected coming from my mouth. I had always gone the extra mile to get things right in practice; it’s why the other players liked me so much. I helped them up when defenders took them down in scrimmages, and made sure they played well. So they listened intently, and I could only hope they got the message.

And somehow it worked. I scored two goals on the contest, pushing my total up to 9 on the season. I also dished out two assists, one to Zuzu on a bar point, and the other to Laura Cellen. We won the game 23-21, a close victory given how dominant we had been in the first half. But a win was a win in my book, and I had captained the team to the victory. There was something special about doing that, and I felt like a million credits when I returned to the locker room. And there was Christine telling me that I had done an excellent job.

“Only because you paved the way,” I said in reply to her.

“Just admit it, you’ve got guts. That won the game right there,” she said in turn.

“They didn’t make it easy,” I admitted. The C-Bucs had pushed us to the limit; they had wanted this game badly.

“Don’t cut yourself short. I think you did a great job as captain,” Christine said.

“Not as great as you, though,” I had to admit.

“Look, Leia, you won the game. You kept the team together through a tough period when they were being beaten on defense. You held it together. I wasn’t really that surprised to see you telling the others what was up, and how you wanted it to be done. That’s the mark of a real leader right there.”

I don’t think I could ever be that kind of great leader, but I did my job. And now I have two more games to prove my worth as captain until Christine returns from her injury. I just hope that I do as well as I did in this game, because I’ve seen the ugly side of what it’s like to be captain and feel helpless when all goes to hell around you. So it’s back to the practice field on the shuttle and the gym, preparing myself for Carratos.

The galaxy can say what it wants to about me, about how the Senators don’t stand a chance from here on out, about how we’re too young, too inexperienced, not strong enough. But I just want to make one thing clear: I’m not going away anytime soon. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

Better believe it.

---

IC: Christine Gamble

The end of the game had been way too close for comfort for Christine as she watched it unfold. Hapes almost broke through and pulled out the victory, so when the final horn blared, Christine took a sigh of relief. They were 3-4, and still alive in the postseason hunt.

After talking to her replacement as captain in the locker room, she had something to say. So she banged on one of the lockers until everyone looked at her. “Listen up!” she yelled until it became quiet in the room. “That was a great game today. Take heart that you were able to turn away their rally. It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. Now we’re 3-4 . . . may not sound like much, but there’s one thing I want all of you to consider. The HSN writers at the beginning of the season, in their Season Preview issue, predicted that we would win two games all year. Guess what? We’ve won three.” There were some cheers from the team. “And we’re not done yet. We’ve equaled our win total from last year . . . yet we still have four games left. Any more wins after this, and we’ve improved upon last season’s record. Not too bad for a two-win team, am I right?” This got more cheers from the team. “So all I can ask from each of you is to work hard in practice this week, and to make sure that you listen to Leia. She’s in charge right now, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. If we keep this up, we can beat anyone. So keep that in mind, and we’re going to surprise some people around the galaxy in the next four weeks.”

Despite the injury, Christine wanted to feel like she was part of something. This was still her team; Leia was just filling in for her temporarily. But was the writing on the wall that changes had to be made? Could this be the beginning of a revolution? And where was her part in that? She would have to think these things over in the next two weeks.

And then she saw another presence there with her in the room. Anya Amasova stood there without saying anything. "Anya!" Christine said. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"I decided to drop in unannounced," the Hapan half forward said.

"How's the home situation?" Christine asked.

"I think I've finally gotten over it. It's been a tough few weeks, but finally my mother was laid to rest. And my sisters want to see me succeed. So I came back, and I am ready to rejoin the team," Anya said in her accented tone.

"Welcome back," Christine said. "And I made sure our deal is still on."

"Good," Anya commented. "Because I'm ready to contribute. My mother would have wanted me to fight on. So I shall - you'll see."

On the flight from the Consortium to Carratos, Anya Amasova rejoined her teammates. She would be ready to play against the Pirates, ready to put her rough season behind her and get back to the game she loved.


TAG: jcgoble3

 

IC: Madelyne Till

Sandskimmers Coach Bill Hitts put his hands on my shoulders and led me towards the training room where we had planned to watch the Starkillers game. It took all my will not to shrug him off. I was married and I didn’t appreciate being touched by another man. “The reception on this planet is not the same as Ralltiir,” Bill said gently. “The boys are probably in a dead zone.”

I tried to relax. “They should have called if they were going to be late,” I mumbled to myself. We had reached the training room. Bill turned on the game and took a seat next to me. Louise was fussy so I pulled out a bottle and began to feed her. The Mercs quickly took control of the first possession. Until Trey broke up a nice pass. He tossed the ball off to his nephew, Noah passed up to Moun, Moun passed to Fortune. Fortune took a shot but it was blocked by Katan, the Mercs keeper. Fortune pounded his fist into the turf. Ty suddenly left his position. The Mercs were driving again and there was a huge hole in our defense. Ty ran to Fortune’s side and the two shared a few words. Meanwhile back on defense Poletin, Roselli and Shyall along with several Mercs offense players had ended up in a huge pile up all of them scrambling for the ball.

To my surprise and the surprise of the commentator Roselli came crawling out of the bottom of the pile with the ball. She managed to toss it up to Hovechar. Hovechar dribbled her way up field past several defenders and eventually passed off to Ty who was still way out of position. Our offense was doing a good job to hold off the Mercs defenders. The next surprise came when my son in law, defensive back Ty Allin scored his first career goal. He got high fives from all offensive players except Fortune who simply mouthed the words “Game On.”

Ty ran back to his own positon and received a pat on the back from Coach Till. Just then I heard Spencer’s reaction from behind me. “That was unexpected,” he said.

“Where have you been?” I demanded as I turned my head to see Spencer and Tomas in the back of the room.

“The restaurant was way crowded,” Tomas began. “Service was terrible so we went somewhere else. After that traffic was horrible so Spencer said he knew a shortcut. He ended up getting us lost.”

“You couldn’t call or text to let me know you’d be late?” I said without hiding the anger and fear I had been feeling.

I could tell by the way Spencer avoided eye contact that Tomas hadn’t told the truth. “We were in a hurry to get back,” Tomas said with a shrug. “Damn it!” He exclaimed suddenly.

“Tomas!” I scolded.

“I was talking about the game the Mercs just got a bar point. Ty was too outa breath from making that goal to stop the play.”

“Come have a seat,” I told both boys. “We’ll have this discussion at the half.”

Tomas walked quickly to the empty sofa next to the one that Bill, Louise and I were occupying. Spencer much more cautiously creeped up to the sofa and sat at the end furthest from me. From that point on Fortune attacked the Merc defense on every play. He scored 3 bar points and a goal. Former Merc Melia Soker put up two bar points. Bartholomew put up a goal and Sureysh added a bar point and Odette added two bar points. Our defense was playing a solid game as well. They only allowed for 4 points to be scored in the first half giving us a 16-4 lead. Trey had pulled himself with a few minutes to go in the half and I knew it was unlikely he would play again today.

“Starkillers are dominating,” Tomas said forcefully as the game broke for commercial.

Spencer rolled his eyes. “The Starkillers are just taking advantage of the fact that Lovnivek is hurt and Arock is suspended. It also looks like Till studied his tape and made sure to have the offense get Hadon involved in as many plays as possible. The rookie has been struggling all season. They shook him up good by having Allin score, a shot he easily should have blocked and after that he has never recovered.”

“Those are good observations,” Bill complimented.

“None of which excuses your being late,” I reminded Spencer harshly. “Where did you really go for breakfast?”

“What do you mean?” Spencer asked.

“I mean that I tried to call you and your data pad wasn’t even getting reception. Or you had turned it off completely. I was worried sick something happened to you two and I demand an explanation.”

“I took Tomas to Tatooine U,” Spencer confessed quietly.

Tomas gave his brother an evil stare. “I wanted to see the campus,” he said trying to recover. “You should have just let me go last night,” he accused.

“Tomas if you wanted to see the campus we can arrange a trip after Limmie season. You’re hiding something.”

“I am not!”

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” I warned.

“Don’t raise your voice at me.” Tomas challenged back.

The second half of the game was starting and I had no desire to continue this conversation in front of the Sandskimmers head coach. “Lucky for you we have a 30 hour flight ahead of us tonight,” I said sarcastically. “One way or another we will get to the bottom of this. “And you’re not out of the sand pit in this one either,” I reminded Spencer. “I can cut your allowance, your 17 plenty young enough to be punished. Even if you aren’t living at home anymore.”

Spencer was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. The Starkillers opened up the second half with a quick bar point from Bartholomew. Just a few minutes later Fortune added another goal. Trey pulled several starters and the Mercs were able to catch up a bit after that. They never really came within a fighting chance though.

“Congrats on the win,” Bill said turning to me as the final seconds ticked off the clock. It felt odd. I didn’t really feel like I had done much. “Spencer usually watches the Sandskimmers games down on the sidelines and I’d like to invite Tomas to come down and watch there as well. I have reserved a suite for you and Louise,” Bill continued.

I knew I should forbid Tomas from going down to watch the game on the sideline. A few hours peace in a box to myself and Louise sounded too good to pass up. “Tomas, you can go if you’d like,” I said looking his way.

Tomas’ mouth dropped open. “You mean I can go watch on the sideline and I don’t even have to collect dirty sweaty towels?” He asked.

Bill chuckled goodheartedly. “You sure can,” he told Tomas. “But we gotta hurry up if we want to have enough time to talk Yolanda into lacing up her cleats.”

“Why wouldn’t Yolanda play?” I asked.

“She’s tired of playing here,” Bill explained. “I’m sure she saw the Starkillers win and that means her chances of being called up are minimal. We can talk after the game Mrs. Till,” Bill said walking down the hall with Tomas and Spencer right beside him. “Enjoy your suite.”

“Well Louise, it looks like it’s just you and me,” I said as I kissed my daughter on the forehead. There was a menu left for me in the suite. I ordered a salad with spicy peppers. I never understood why people from climates with such hot weather ate foods that made their mouths burn. It was quite different than anything available on Ralltiir though and while I was washing it down with the last drops of my bottled water Louise fell asleep. I couldn’t help but recline my seat and join her.

I woke up to a tie game of 8 all. When I looked at the clock I wasn’t too surprised to learn that we were already well into the 2nd half. I knew that I had been exhausted. I was fortunate enough to wake up in time for Yolanda to give us a lead with a long spectacular goal. The home crowd chanted her name. Bill must have known the right words to motivate her after all I thought. Pitahaya was able to score us a bar point a few possessions later and I never did get to see the Firedrakes score that afternoon. The Sandskimmers had gone from dead last in week two of the season to first place and the Starkillers had reclaimed their lead in the Solo. As an owner I was in a very good place right now. If only I could get control of my children.

I tried one last time to get Spencer to tell me what he and Tomas had been up to before the game. “I can’t tell you mom,” he said sadly.

“You can, but you won’t,” I corrected. I could break Spencer. I had done it in the past. He was less likely to keep a secret from me than any of my children. There was a look in his eye though, a pleading for me to stop. For whatever reason I stopped. “Spencer I love you and I don’t want to leave angry. I’m glad you got to the stadium safely,” I said opening my arms. He looked at me like I was a ghost. I stepped forward and gave him a hug. “I miss you baby,” I said.

“Come on Tomas,” I called as I headed up the ramp of the ship. I made Tomas do some extra school assignments on the way home. Mostly we kept to ourselves. We got back to Ralltiir after the Starkillers had returned from Mandalore. Trey was waiting for me at the Spaceport. He gave me a hug and then turned towards Tomas. “How was your trip Little Vigo?” He asked.

“There’s two suns on Tatooine,” Tomas answered.

Sometimes it seemed like my family spoke in code. All the same they were my family and I loved them.

Tag Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Alana Glencross
Bakura Gardens, Salis D’aar, Bakura



“Brothers, sisters, teammates,” Alana said to the locker room, “We are here tonight to fight the devil!”

The Miners were gathered in the locker room awaiting the start of their game against the Demons, currently a playoff position team. A conference win was something that this team needed in the worst way possible.

“And the only way to do that is through a good old fashioned revival,” Alana proclaimed with one finger pointed skyward. She jumped up on the bench where she usually sat to get ready, cleats and all. “Do you hear that?” Alana put one hand to her ear.

Everyone listened for a second.

“No…” Ronan said, drawing the word out.

“Well I hear a rumble, a mighty wave of sound. Do you know who’s making it?” Alana said.

“Are we in the middle of an earthquake?” Horst asked.

“We are indeed!” Alana said, “For that is the noise of the Miner faithful. Dark has been the valley, but last week we came into the light and now these Demons and their Legion seek to pull us back into the darkness. They seek to deny us the mountaintop through their evil deeds. Why, just look at what their pernicious influence did to an innocent Jawa last week!”

“Jawas are not innocent. Nothing that’s innocent smells terribly like they do,” Jolla Pic said, “I went to college on Tatooine. Trust me.”

“They corrupted that innocent Jawa and turned him into a killer! And thus shall they seek to do to us by their evil deeds!”

“Can we wrap this up Reverend Glencross? We have to take the field in like 45 seconds,” Cuth Hulu said from near the door.

“Can I get a ‘thank the Force’?” Alana asked.

“Thank the Force,” Valerii grumbled, “Now get out there.”

---

“Gentlebeings, please direct your attention to midfield. This year, the Limmie Hall of Fame announced one of its largest classes in recent history. Among the inductees was a being who helped bring three Galactic Cups to Bakura. Please join the Miners in welcoming back former assistant captain Aron Rodders!”

This might be the Glencross Farewell Tour, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to take a moment off to recognize the first Miner inducted into the Hall of Fame in a long while. Everyone, the Miner players included, applauded Rodders as he acknowledged the crowd with a wave. It was a long and strong ovation for the great. The Miners didn’t retire numbers, but they did honor players and there would doubtless be an exhibit to Rodders’ accomplishments installed at the Gardens in the near future.

As Rodders left the field, he shook hands with some of his former teammates, including Alana.

“Stealing my thunder, Aron?” Alana asked with a smile.

“Have to keep you humble somehow,” he replied, “Go out there and get back in it or everyone’s going to say you just rode my coattails your entire career.”

“Try the other way around, buddy.”

Rodders turned to head upstairs where the Noble House was entertaining him for the game. In doing so, he ran right into Assistant GM Saoirse Sloan, who was uncharacteristically down on the sideline.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Aron said, “Didn’t see you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sloan said and Rodders was on his way...and Alana noticed that she watched him go.

“Saoirse?”

“Hmmm? What?” the Hapan said, “Were you talking to me?”

“You here for a reason? Other than sightseeing?” Alana asked.

“Sightseeing? What? Him? No,” Saoirse said, “He’s not single. Wait, is he?”

“Sloan! What are you doing on my sideline!” Valerii shouted, “The game’s starting soon and you’re yapping with my captain!”

“Eldred wanted me to reiterate that it would be much appreciated if you beat the Demons so her sister in-law will stop crowing up in the box,” Sloan said.

“As if I needed her permission,” Valerii said, “Sometimes these Triestes…” They couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence as the head coach stalked away.

“But, really, is he single?” Sloan asked Alana.

---

Ware Vulf was easily one of the better goalkeepers in the Elite League. The Miners chased him from the game by halftime.

To his credit, Edgar Mevers knew when his keeper was having a bad day. What he had in reserve wasn’t any better, but at least he could protect the ego of his keeper from being destroyed by a Miners team that had found its groove again.

At midfield, Alana hadn’t scored a single point. She had, however, assisted on a whopping 20 of them. She had Xander Darkrider beat all day long and it felt like she could do no wrong. The beautiful game was like a choreographed dance and she knew all the moves. She flew about the middle of the field. It was sheer joy. Her forwards were open whenever she wanted one and they were making smart, precise plays that were soundly beating the Demons. Last week’s game had been tight, start to finish, but today the Miners were loose, like they’d been against Cloud City and Hapes at the start of the season. This was what playing for fun looked like.

The Demons offense was a relatively consistent beast, putting up points in the 20s in all but one outing this season. The fact that the Miners kept them under 20 was a testament to hard work on the back end by what was statistically the worst defense in the ELL. Li Roy Jinkins got most of the attention, including all of Nelly Wizmark’s, and had some real crash and burn rushes that the Miners capitalized on. It wasn’t a flashy showing like the offense had, but it was something to build on.

When all was said and done, the Miners were still in last place in the conference, but they had hope. Things were tightening up across the league. These next few games still meant something, and that was all they could ask for at this point.

As she left the field, Alana looked up at the banners in the eaves of Bakura Gardens, the fluttering memorials to team accomplishments, but most importantly championships. She had just one wish.

I want to join your happy band and play all day in the promised land.

TAG: None

 

Power Rankings, Back After a One-Week Hiatus! Admit it, You Missed Us!​

​

1. Ralltiir Starkillers – Played like the top team they are this week in dominating a great Mercs squad. Yeah, we think their record is no accident. They’re the top team for a reason.

2. Chandrila Patriots – Playing under-the-sensors ball only gets you so far, Reina Kether. We’re on to you and your Skywalker-leading team. You can’t hide anymore!

3. Ylesia Lightning – They’ve dug out of an early hole and are somehow sitting in second place in a tightening Solo Conference. Keep this momentum up, and we could see some postseason action for the Lightning. That could save their franchise and its stars given the hot seat they were put on to begin the season.

4. Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We won’t put that much stock into the loss this week.

5. Mando’ade Mercs – Speaking of taking little stock in a loss, that’s how we’re looking at the Mercs. Got beaten up this past week, but they are still a good team. Also, maybe us putting them this far down in the rankings will be like a reverse jinx and they’ll go on a season-ending tear like last season just to prove us wrong. Except that we’re totally calling them to do it anyways.

6. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – Just when you think the Smugglers don’t have a lot going for them coming off last season, they find a way to stick it back in your face. They’re hankering for a postseason spot, and they will almost always get what they want.

7. Kashyyyk Rangers – We’re still not sure what to make of this team. Oops, this is about the tenth time we’ve had to pay ourselves for use of our pseudo-trademark on that phase this week alone. This is getting ridiculous.

8. Bakura Miners – Boom goes the Demons! What better way to stay in the hunt than to beat up a team ahead of you in the standings? We can’t think of anything.

9. Denon Demons – Ware Vulf left the field again this week. And it wasn’t after a good game. That spells trouble.

10. Coruscant Senators – Barely snuck out of the Consortium with a win this week. Leia Adama may not be a Christine Gamble in terms of leadership, but hey, they won, so that’s what counts. But a daunting road trip will probably catch up to them at some point soon.

11. Carratos Pirates – Even though they’re struggling, at least they keep us entertained by changing it up after every game! That’s worth the price of admission in itself.

12. Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – Almost picked up a win this week at home. This has been a very tough year on rookie phenom Tendra Nalo, and we’re beginning to wonder if she made the right decision in signing there if she wanted to avoid a rebuild.

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

 

Three Weeks Ago Home of Loren and Zenner Jul, Loren Jul

Loren lie on her back, her head perched on the armrest of the sofa, newborn daughter Trazi asleep on her chest. Zenner sat in a chair close by keeping one eye on the most important beings to him in the Galaxy and one eye on the holo. Loren’s picture appeared on the screen. Zenner turned up the volume so they could hear, “Our second inductee was an ELL all-star in five consecutive years, including three starting appearances. She was nominated in back-to-back years for the Salbukk Award. She was nominated twice for the Ducess Elden Award, including winning that in 278. Captain of the Premiership-winning Ralltiir Starkillers in 271, the Limmie Hall of Fame welcomes Loren Jul.”

Zenner stood, walked towards his wife, bent down and kissed her deeply, “Congratulations honey.”

“Thanks,” Loren replied smiling brightly. She reached down and gently fixed the hairs on her daughters head. Being inducted into the hall of fame was a huge honor for Loren. She didn’t mind missing the ceremony though. Her game plan for life had included more than just playing Limmie. She had a family now. A life to care for. Someone to be a role model for.

Loren hadn’t given up Limmie. She was just taking time off. In a few short months Loren would call Madelyne Till. She would finally take the offer first extended to her when she announced her retirement from the playing field. Loren was willing to take any open position in the organization. Deep down she knew she wanted to coach. She knew her playing days were over. Her body didn’t have any more to give, but her mind was still sharp. Loren wasn’t done with Limmie. “Mommy still has a cup to win,” she whispered to her daughter. “Loren Jul doesn’t leave business unfinished.”

Five Days Ago Cambrielle Primary Academy, Kara Sureysh

Kara pulled up to the primary school to pick up her son Colt. She still couldn’t believe he had started school this term. Her decision to have Colt wasn’t an easy one. Taking a year off before entering the draft to have a child could have meant being overlooked completely. Kara had talked to her coaches, her agent, counselors, the baby’s father had called her foolish, she had gone to the clinic but she couldn’t do it. She was already attached. She decided to have Colt.

She had no regrets now. Children ran out the front door as class was dismissed. Kara spotted Colt’s Starkiller warm up jacket and blinked the lights on her speeder. She waved and he waved back as he ran towards the passenger door. When he reached it Kara unstrapped her safety restraint; before Kara was able to get out and help Colt with the speeder door he opened it himself.

“When did you get so strong?” She asked her son.

“I got big muscles,” Colt told his mom. “Big like yours.”

“You have to work real hard to get muscle like mine,” Kara informed her son. “I didn’t develop these muscles playing holonet games. I developed them in the weight room and on the Limmie field." Kara was concerned about the amount of time her son spent sitting. Too much time in front of screens. The Limmie season could be a mother’s worst nightmare. She had just spent hours running drills on the field. This evening she needed her rest so she’d be able to participate in practice again tomorrow. She also had a playbook to memorize.

Kara flew by several food establishments. Wishing they served the foods on her diet. Why weren’t you able to drive thru and pick up something good for your body? If Kara didn’t have to prepare a meal tonight maybe she would have more time to spend with Colt. When Kara did get home she and Colt shared a plate of raw vegetables while he read through his homework, Kara opened her playbook. She took a short break to check Colt’s homework. For two hours after that break Kara memorized plays, she’d close her eyes enabling her to watch her and her teammates run the plays in her mind against the Denon Demons. Colt watched videos on his data pad on a site called Galaxy Tube.

After dinner it was more of the same. At bedtime she practically pried the device from her little boy’s hands. “I hate you,” he said. “I hate this house.”

“You need your rest for school tomorrow. If you don’t stay in bed the data pad will be off limits tomorrow.” Kara shut the bed room door. I love you. She thought. The she called out through the closed door, “I love you Colt.”

There was no reply.

Three Days Ago St. James Theater, Lucie Vigo-Allin

Lucie started feeling the pains of labor while watching a dress rehearsal. It was an important rehearsal. Only a few days before opening night remained. Lucie knew she had hired good beings to oversee the productions while she was out. She tapped Bough, a former Starkillers dance team member and good friend, on the shoulder. “Show’s yours now,” she whispered pointing at her belly.

Before Lucie could get to her feet Bough stood and held out his hand. He escorted her to the back of the theater. “Do you need a ride to the med center?” He asked.

Lucie shook her head. “I already alerted Ty. He should be here any minute.”

Bough reached out and took Lucie’s hand. Together they waited. Just before Ty’s speeder pulled up in front of the theater the first really painful contraction hit. Lucie braced herself by pressing firmly on the wall next to her. After helping Lucie out to her husband’s speeder Bough could be seen cradling the hand Lucie had unconsciously squeezed during that contraction. “Let me know when the little guy arrives,” Bough reminded Lucie. “Send holos.”

“How ya feeling?” Ty asked anxiously as he accelerated the speeder towards the med center.

“I’m fine,” Lucie lied. Having a baby was scary, but Lucie didn’t want Ty to know she was scared or how painful that last contraction had been. Lucie’s status as a celebrity got her an instant private room. A nurse hooked her up to a machine to monitor her contractions, her heart rate and the baby’s heart rate.

“Everything looks normal,” the nurse told Lucie and Ty cheerfully. “Unfortunately you have barely dilated at all. If it weren’t for the strength and consistency of your contractions you’d be sent home.” Sent Home? Lucie thought. The pain was so intense. How could that even be a part of this discussion? “What we suggest in these situations is to have you walk,” the nurse continued. “We find it helps speed up labor.”

Dressed in a gown issued by the med center with Ty at her side Lucie began to walk up and down the corridor of the delivery wing. Her pace was quick at first. Each time a contraction came it was more painful. She walked through them at first, paused later to ride them out. “Let’s go have the nurse check again,” Ty encouraged.

“No,” Lucie said stubbornly. She looked up at the chrono,”It hasn’t been an hour yet.”

“I think the hour was just a guideline. You should let the nurse take a look,” Ty suggested again.

Lucie was insistent that she walk for the full duration. Behind one door of the corridor a woman could be heard grunting and crying out through the pains of delivery. The woman had been pushing for a while. Lucie wanted it to be her turn to push. She hoped her son would come quicker than the child the woman behind that door was waiting for. Minutes later there were cheers and cries of a baby. Lucie looked back up at the chrono. An hour had finally gone by, “Let’s go back to my room,” Lucie managed as another contraction began.

Walking had worked. Lucie was finally given some meds to ease the pains of labor. She rested peacefully for a few hours. Her mother and sister arrived. T.J. was with Ty’s mother. It was getting late now and he’d be giving her trouble about bedtime Lucie mused. Suddenly it felt like the pains meds were no longer working. She called for the nurse.

When the nurse checked she said the meds were working, that it was time for Lucie to push. There was no privacy in a delivery room. Lucie was torn between knowing that if her mom and sister were not there she would want them here and wishing she could just be alone right now. Ty stood at the bottom of the bed excitedly calling for his son to come on out. “Anytime now little fellow, your mom’s been through enough tonight.”

At last Lucie felt a huge relief, “He’s here,” Ty cried out. Ty held the little bundle while a nurse cut the cord. “Welcome Ezra,” Ty said sweetly. He carried the baby around to the side of the bed and let Lucie take a look before he was even cleaned up. Tears of love and joy fell down Lucie’s cheeks. She reached out took her son and held him for the first time.

1 Day Ago Home of Andres Fortune and Justyne Vigo, Justyne Vigo- Fortune

“Marty No,” Justyne yelled as she felt another piece of food hit her on the back. She was on the floor picking up the pieces he had already thrown.

“Bad Marty,” Zoey scolded sternly.

“He’s not bad,” Justyne explained as she stood to look at her daughter. “He just isn’t old enough to know better.”

“My snack is cold,” Zoey complained.

Justyne unstrapped Marty from his high chair and lifted him out. He was heavy. “I’m giving Marty a bath,” she told Zoey. “If you had eaten your snack when I first called you to the kitchen it wouldn’t be cold.”

Justyne carried Marty to the fresher and bathed him. She brought him out to the living room and dimmed the lights. “Mom it’s too dark,” Zoey whined.

“Marty’s bedtime,” Justyne replied.

Justyne grabbed a blanket from the sofa, sat down with Marty in her lap and snuggled up tightly with her son. She tuned the holo to pick up an animated program. The singing banthas only proved to excite Marty. He squirmed off her lap and danced around the room.

“I don’t like this program. It’s for babies’,” Zoey called from the easy chair where she was fiddling with her data pad. “Can I go upstairs?”

“Absolutely not,” her mother answered. “Andres has a game tomorrow. He needs to rest.”

The song ended and the banthas on the holo said their farewells. Marty waved at the screen. Justyne smiled warmly as her son climbed back into her lap. Another program began. This one was meant for older children. It taught math and science. Marty fell asleep and Justyne caught herself nodding off as well.

She carried Marty to his bed and tucked him in. “Zoey,” she greeted as she returned to the living room. “Time to read.”

Zoey opened the Diary of a Hapan Princess application on her data pad and handed it to Justyne. Justyne read three entries aloud to her little girl. “Mommy needs to go to bed now,” she said with a yawn.

“I’m not tired,” Zoey protested crossing her arms.

“You can read in your bed as long as you like,” Justyne offered handing her daughter the data pad.

Zoey eagerly took her data pad and skipped up the stairs to her room. “Goodnight mom,” she called cheerfully.

“Goodnight baby,” Justyne called back. She straightened up the living room, checked her messages and the news headlines on her data pad before heading to bed herself. Andres wasn’t asleep. He’d been watching a holo in the bedroom all along. Justyne knew Andres had waited up for a reason. She slipped out of her panties to speed the process along before getting under the covers next to her husband.

This Morning Home of Bat and Georgia Vigo, Georgia Vigo

Georgia sat in the nursery furiously packing diapers, wipes, extra clothes, blankets, favorite toys, hair ties and bibs. When she was done she got up and headed for the kitchen. She grabbed sippy cups, snack containers and her own meal supplement bars. Serene came running down the hallway in her pajamas. “Mommy, I don’t know what to wear,” she cried.

“We are going to a game today. Just wear your father’s jersey,” Georgia suggested.

“I wored that last time when daddy lost,” Serene reminded her mother.

“Then wear your blue dress,” Georgia offered.

“Will you braid my hair?”

“If you hurry up and get dressed. I have to get your sister ready too, you know.”

Serene turned and ran to her room. She came back minutes later with the dress on backwards. Georgia let a laugh escape, “Let me help you with that.” Georgia fixed her eldest daughter’s dress. She had her sit in a chair while she braided the girl’s hair and tied the ends with orange bows. “There you go, all set. Now don’t go getting messy we leave just as soon as I get Tyffanie ready.”

Reluctantly Georgia woke Tyffanie from her morning nap. “Wake up baby. Your father has a game today.” She dressed her youngest daughter in a blue dress to match her sister. Tyffanie did not have enough hair to braid so Georgia used an orange head band with a flower on the side. “There, aren’t you pretty.”

The girl smiled at her mother, Georgia was unable to help herself she squeezed her daughter tightly in a hug. She led the new walker out to the kitchen. “Shoes on,” she called to Serene. Serene wanted to wear her sandals, so Georgia bent down to help her with the straps. Once Serene’s sandals were secured she lifted her diaper bag over her shoulder and lifted Tyffanie into the air. Each girl was securely strapped into their safety seat in the speeder and Georgia climbed into the Pilot’s seat. “Next stop Financial Square,” she announced.

Present Day Financial Square Arena, Madelyn Vigo

All week Madelyne had put up with Tomas’ dirty looks. She had tended to Louise’s needs while her husband had put in long hours at the stadium preparing his Limmie team for the final stretch of the season. It wasn’t enough that the team held the best record in the ELL. Now they had to keep that position. The task was not going to be easy and she understood that. Three of the last four games were divisional games. Still it would have been nice to have someone to help with the kids, the household chores or even just another adult to talk to.

This week had also been magical. She’d witnessed the birth of another grandson. Today was what she referred to as “I got what I wanted day.” Every year she told her family not to fuss over her. She had asked to become a mother many times over and never really felt a need to be fussed over. She knew though something was up. Tomas and Trey had left early for the stadium. And now instead of being allowed up to the owner’s box where she planned to watch the game between the Demons and Starkillers, Madelyne, Louise and all their security detail were headed for the Starkillers locker room.

“Happy Mother’s Day, mom” Justyne cried out as Madelyne turned into the main area by all the lockers. There was cheering and applause from the players and dancers. Bat, Justyne and Tomas stepped forward. Trey came walking over with a droid next to him. “This is where the boys were last week when they were late for the game,” he explained. “Spencer built it for you and Tomas needed to retrieve it. It’s programmed to cook all your recipes, do housework and even do household repairs if you need.”

Justyne picked up a data pad from the bench beside her. “Relax, Spencer. She’s not mad,” she said to her brother who was joining the locker room via satellite from Tatooine.

Madelyne fought tears as she looked over the droid her son had built. “What are all these screens for?” She asked curiously. The droid was dome shaped like an R2 Unit. One one side there were 7 small screens.

“Each one is connected to a camera one of us kids set up,” Spencer explained. “Tomas put Louise’s in her nursery. Mine is here in my dorm room. Go ahead and turn it on,” he encouraged.

Madelyne touched the screen with Spencer’s name on it. The camera was focused on a bulletin board. There was a recent holo of the Tatooine U swim team, a holo of a meal he had eaten in the dining hall that morning and a shot of him and Tomas a week ago in their Sandskimmer’s coaching staff uniforms on the sideline of the game. “I know I don’t call enough, this way I can put my recent activities here for you to view anytime.”

“Now press Lucie’s,” Justyne called out.

Madelyne touched Lucie’s screen. Her daughter and less than one week old grandson appeared. “Happy Mother’s Day,” Lucie said smiling.

“Happy Mother’s Day yourself,” Madelyne returned.

“Thanks mom,” Lucie laughed. “After the game bring the droid over. It’s going to make us all dinner."

The sight of her newest grandson left Madelyne speechless. “Touch Richard’s screen mom,” Lucie instructed. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Madelyne nodded and wiped away tears. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Richard in months. There he sat in a suit and tie behind a small desk with paint peeling on the wall behind him. “The team is doing great mom,” Richard complimented. “All those little things you do behind the scenes are really contributing to the success of the team. Don’t forget that.”

“I want to talk about you,” Madelyne requested. “How’s the practice?”

“I’m learning from the best mom,” Richard assured his mother. “As you can see by my surroundings there isn’t much funding for battered and abused beings. I’m still planning to move back to Ralltiir and open my own practice someday. I need more time to learn though. You understand right?”

Madelyne nodded. “Your father would be so proud.”

“I hate to interrupt,” keeper Kaat Stun suddenly blurted out. “Never mind that’s a lie. I am more than happy to end the slobbery love fest. We have a kriffing Limmie game to play.” She announced.

Trey raised a hand over his head to get his team’s attention. “Let’s give a show of appreciation for this team’s owner and general manager, my wife, Madelyne Till.”

The team applauded, whooped and hollered. Madelyne blushed “If you all really want to do something for me.” She said. “Go get a win for me.”

Spoiler

Random Facts:

Trazi: Loren and Zenner’s daughter rhymes with Jay Z. I would pencil “Crazy Trazi” on your 300 draft boards now

Ezra: Ezra was meant to be Ty and Lucie’s first child. But I learned about Rebels and the character Ezra shortly before the birth of T.J. I wanted to name Ty and Lucie’s son after Ezra Hanson, Taylor Hanson’s eldest child. Ironically Ezra in the series is voiced by a young man named Taylor. I decided to go ahead and use the name now. I had no idea what to call T.J. when I strayed from Ezra, I just figured anyone with a big enough ego to get into a professional sport would easily name his son after himself. I’ve since become very attached to T.J.

Colt: Named after Kara Goucher’s RL son. In RL Kara is married, she took time off her career as a distance runner to have her son.

Most beautiful song that I thought about a lot when writing this post:



And song I'll always remember seeing live with my mother (because she's a Beatle's fan and I'm a Hanson fan):



End random facts.

Tag: For my mother who sat through ROTJ in ’83 even though she would have rather been anywhere else

And many thanks to Trieste for permission to write from more than one POV, including character's without approved sheets!

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Ty Allin announces the birth of his second son, Ezra. Mother and baby are doing well

TAG: Runjedirun

 

GM Post

HSN Analyst & Writer Klatch
Or...H.A.W.K.! Ka caw! Ka caw!

The collected musings of those pesky writers and enigmatic analysts that roam the halls of HSN...usually doing things like this:

• It’s chaos in the Skywalker Conference--every game counts
• Is Mylessa McCloud this season’s Ryi Kor’le? Leave it to the Game of Rivals to settle that question
• Nobody’s out of it in the Solo Conference, but Starkillers are the team to beat
• Uncertainty about the front office leadership of the Monarchs has come at the wrong moment as conference tightens
• Coruscant rebuild coming in the perfect season as Senators are still in competition for a playoff spot with four weeks to go
• Miners are going to do their darnedest to score their way into the playoffs
• Does Carratos need more stability in their gameplans?
• Ylesia’s commanding conference record gives them a strong edge in second half of season if they can keep pace with the rest of the conference
• With four weeks to go, 280 may have one of the best finishes in recent memory for an ELL season

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

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Peace City Gardens, Ylesia

It was only a few minutes into the first half and the breakout strategy was already struggling. Urdaaza wasn’t falling for any of the tricks the forwards were playing in their one-on-one attacks. Geoff had made a mistake this time, he chose the wrong attack and now his team was paying for it. He wanted a win, his whole team wanted a win. After two in a row against tough teams, only to lose the home opener in a close game, it hurt. They didn’t want to be hanging out near the bottom. The 278 year had begun to loom large over the team. The majority still had the painful memories of getting slammed game after game no matter what they tried.

Logan got stuffed again and Geoff could see the frustration on his face, for all the young forwards skill he didn’t take rejection well. He seemed driven to make his mark on the game. Last year he burned up the field and the score board, netting both the Salbukk and Comeback player of the year awards, this year he gave a good effort but, was never rewarded, the defenses were just too strong, or was he too weak. No, Logan wasn’t weak, or at least it didn’t look that way. Every play he was right at the center waiting for the chance to break out of the pack and charge the goal.

At the other end things could have gone better, even with three midfielders the Lightning were getting through and the sudden addition of Bestide had thrown the usually strong half back line into a bit of disarray. They still stopped things but, more slipped past, leaving the still rookie backs to try and handle things. Kala and Bel were doing what they should, what the ‘Tower’ formation called for but, cutting off the pass was sometimes not enough, as evidenced by the 6-0 hole the Pirates now found themselves. It wasn’t anyone’s fault they were just getting out played, no if there was fault to place, it was with the coach. It was his plan falling apart out there, his player choice that threw off the balance.

At the half it was time for a change, the ‘Breakout’ was a failure much like the ‘Boarding Party’ it did no good to keep using it.

“Team,” Geoff called out, “This new plan isn’t getting us anywhere time for a change, back to the ‘Broadside’”

“I think you mean ‘Bombard’” Logan yelled from the side, the team erupted into laughter, even though the staff at What We Learned had decided on using ‘Broadside’ Logan wasn’t letting go of his choice.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s what we going to use, you all know what to do,” The half forwards nod their heads, they seemed always ready to step up.

The switch closed the gap a little but, not enough. That was the weakness of the long range attack, it’s hard to dig out of a deep hole. Beanne tugged on the head coach’s sleeve,

“Look at Bestide,” she whispered, Geoff turned his attention to the reserve center half back, the Lightning attack came fast right up the middle, Bestide should have stepped up and taken the ball carrier down but instead, played further back further away. Was she watching for a pass? That wasn’t in the game plan, at least not the one Geoff made. A thought popped into the Human’s mind, did someone from the Board get to Bestide. Schnitt planted the idea that the first three games were fixed against the Pirates. Geoff recalled the out of character play from Boutros for those games. His face went pale, no, was it possible, were these games rigged. He shook his head, no it was all him, his plans that failed. Sticking to the ‘All In’ when it had obviously been broken, and picking the wrong setups for the wrong teams. There wasn’t a conspiracy going on, he was just jumping at shadows, right? The rest of the game he analyzed the Bothan’s play and she wasn’t following the game plan laid out, and it was causing more work for the rookie backs that were already overworked. In the end the Pirates couldn’t make it back, despite the best efforts of Leigh, Else and Seiji they lost by twelve points, it wasn’t a blowout, but, it was still a loss, a loss that pulled them even further from the playoffs.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The shuttle to Carratos

“Bestide,” The coach said after the ship was underway, “could I speak with you, in private.”

“Sure,” the Bothan replied. The two moved into a smallish room off the main corridor, Geoff took a seat the half back remained standing.

“I’d like to talk about your play against the Lightning,” He started.

“I’m sorry coach,” she interrupted, “I must’ve had more rust on me than I…”

“Don’t give me that, you knew the game plan, you knew it cold, there was no reason for you play out there. Is something going on?” Her eyes look down then back up, she shifts her weight from foot to foot, this was making her uncomfortable.

“I’m not lying coach, I just lost my head that’s all.” The words that came out seemed weak, there was no conviction behind them. Geoff shook his head.

“Please Bestide, I need to know what’s going on,” For a moment she breaks

“You don’t want…” she stopped herself as if it hurt to reveal more. “There was nothing you could have done, I wasn’t in the game and that’s all you need to know, all right.” Her voice was elevated by the last words. She turned around and walked out leaving the coach staring at the floor, it was true, the games had been rigged. All this time he thought it was just him and his team getting out planned and out played. His eyes looked up, this couldn’t be allowed to go on. If they could win their next games and the right teams lose they could still sneak into the playoffs, but they couldn’t do that if the deck was stacked against them. Geoff chuckled at his phrasing seeing how the Stacked Deck was the favorite watering hole for the Pirates after practice or games. Geoff ventured back out into the cabin only to be greeted by a rather perturbed Rhodri,

“But, why’s the rum gone,” he cried,

“’Cause it makes you weird boss,” Mikia called out, the large Klatooinian put his large hands on his line-mate’s shoulders.

“But, why is the Rum gone,” he said again but, softer this time. Kala stood up, he was probably one of the few people in the galaxy that could go toe-to-toe with Rhodri if things got violent. The Kerestian smiled or as much as he could given his facial structure.

“Why don’t we find you a seat sir,” he said in an even tone, it seemed as if he had dealt with this situation before. Rhodri, who wasn’t actually drunk merely looked up at his bigger teammate and decided it wasn’t worth continuing and moved calmly to his seat. The rest of the trip passed by without further incident, not that the coach would have noticed, he was busy working on the game plan for next game against the Senators, it was time to finally beat them, fixing or no fixing. His plan, although not fool proof, was unconventional. It would once again rely on the half forwards, all of them Gor included.
______________________________________________________________________________
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium, O’pahz, Carratos

“Not that I’m ungrateful for the playing time,” Gor said in the meeting room at the start of the week’s practices, “But I don’t see how having four half forwards is going to beat the Sens. Is it a more numerous ‘Broadside’?”

“’Bombard’” Logan was quick to remind everyone.

“No, this is something different,” the coach explained, “This plan isn’t about long range attack, this is about coordinated two person attacks on goal from the half forward line.”

“How’s that work?” Else asked,

“Well it’s simple, if the ball is passed to the outside forwards,” he said marking out the two circles nearest each sideline, “then both forwards cut to the net, if the ball is passed to the centers,” he continued gesturing to the two marks in the middle of the line, “then those two move towards the net making sure to pass between them if either runs into trouble.”

“What if both half forwards run into trouble?”

“Then that’s when the full and corner forwards drop back to give more options.” Else nodded maybe not fully on board but, it was just as crazy as some of the other plans he’d thought up, not that those had worked out any better but, at least it didn’t get stale.

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Carratos

It was Week Two of the Christine Gamble Rehab Tour, and the team captain was sitting on the bench as she awaited the beginning of the Pirates-Senators game. If it could be called a tour, she would at least have the gumption to charge people admission. Because that’s what most washed-up stars way past their prime did to make a little dough off their name when they needed cash. Except that Christine hoped she wasn’t way past her prime. She hoped that there were lots more years in her body to be taking the physical abuse of Limmie. For some reason, despite the game and its violence, there was something truly beautiful about it. She didn’t know what it was, but it was like the game called to her, like a gold medallion . . .

“You know what I think would be funny?” Hyde Los, the rookie half forward just called up from Thyferra, said to fellow rookie and benchwarmer Duncan Gabbert. “I think that Tatooine should totally sell jars of its sand to tourists. Imagine going there on vacation and bringing a jar of authentic Tatooine dirt back to your family to savor forevermore. And then you can parade it around above your head and say ‘I have a jar of dirt! I have a jar of dirt!’ I think it would be hilarious.”

Christine just rolled her eyes. That was a little too weird, even if it would indeed be funny. If Tatooine officials, or what kind of governmental organization they might have on a planet known for being a safe haven for those not wishing to be found (she’d have to ask Deluxx or Loryyk Fey’limm, both UT Anchorhead grads, about that sometime), wanted to sell jars of dirt to tourists, it would make it onto the HoloNet faster than cute Cathar videos. They’d probably even go viral, and maybe someday it would make it onto a joke news network like they had on Stewjon (Christine forgot the name of the show, but she didn’t really watch it anyways, just heard about it, kind of like ‘The Nonion’, or whatever it was called). Anything to make a credit or two was gold in the books for many.

Luckily, Christine thought, she didn’t have to worry about credits. As long as she wasn’t blowing all her paycheck on wishful things, like most shockboxers seemed to do, it would keep rolling in. Her contract was nice and padded, and her advertisement and endorsement deals were pretty good and kept coming in. New Aroma, for instance, hadn’t called yet, but they probably wouldn’t be interested in a new star until Alana Glencross retired, so there was a wait time there. Gundarkade was a pretty good gig, but she couldn’t do much for them until the offseason due to the rigors of the regular season. Adlidas had her signed to an endorsement deal, and she did the occasional commercial for various goods. Even a sporting goods’ store had called her agent to inquire about her availability, so she was a hot commodity on the commercial market.

Sitting out of the game usually caused Christine’s mind to wander. She kept thinking about what she would do with her cash once she retired. Maybe there would be room to make a foundation of some sort to be a charitable organization. She liked what the Senators were doing with their non-profit organizations, and she sometimes chipped in with the Killenger’s Kids Foundation that roommate Ava Killenger had finally organized over the offseason to help youths troubled with addiction. If she was to start a charity in her name, what would it look to accomplish, anyways? She wasn’t really well-versed with the community of non-profits on Coruscant, so there would have to be some meetings with many individuals to figure out what she could put her money and time into. There had to be something. If nothing else, she guessed Leia Adama could set her up as a volunteer with the Coruscant branch of the Valor Foundation, which she was in on. Her father Declan was working on Nar Shaddaa for the Valor Foundation, and Leia had brought it, albeit a smaller version, to Coruscant with her. Maybe Leia was just meant to be more of a social-sector star, Christine thought. She just had the knack for it.

And that brought up the question of how Leia would do in her second game as captain. These thoughts brought Christine back to the game as it began to unfold. The Pirates were playing the role of the mysterious team that had some trick up its sleeve that was impossible to scout for. That made it almost impossible in practice for the Senators to get in any real work on what the Pirates had done on the season. Thus, the coaches had decided to be less selective in their play-calling, and rely on a series of nebulous defenses to make a stand against the Pirates offense. Their defense was a little bit more concrete, but then again, nothing about the Pirates since their Week One loss to Coruscant the prior season followed traditional Elite League wisdom. The way they changed their gameplan every week was confusing to opposing teams, and that was the danger. Christine knew her teammates would miss her out there, especially rookie Kelly Vurgess, starting in her stead. Their best hope was to get the Pirates to work with so many offensive sets that they gained no sense of rhythm, and that the defense could then settle in and make plays. It was a longshot hope, yes, but it was their best safeguard. That would require several seldom-used sets from the playbook, including the 2-4 zone and box-and-two defenses, with an additional midfielder crashing down to help on defense in some scenarios. A lot would be determined by how the Pirates started out the game, and then usual in-game adjustments would be made to counter them.

The Senator offense was needed to put up lots of points today. With plenty of pressure on the Senator defense, Leia and company had to score. Becki Morlan was ruled out for this game with her hyperextended elbow that still made it hard for her to make Limmie moves with her off-hand, and thus Laura Cellen was making another start. With Anya Amasova back from her family emergency, she was starting with Cellen and Loryyk Fey’limm at the half forward spots. It was necessary for those three to work the Pirates’ half back line, which was no slouch. Otherwise, it would put a lot of pressure on Leia and the corner forwards.

As Christine watched the game begin, she saw Deluxx try to match up with Logan Manx, the Pirates’ star forward. Manx was a talented player . . . but there was also something else there . . . she liked his long hair . . . yeah, that was a nice touch. He was a real stud . . .

“Hey, wake up there,” Los said, punching Christine in the arm and rudely interrupting her thought process. “You look like you’re trying to stare over a Tatooine sand dune to see an oasis on the other side. Something I’ve actually done, mind you.”

“Touch me again, and you’re going to eat dirt on the practice field next time I’m out there,” Christine said.

“OK, sor-ry,” Los said, rolling his eyes. Christine just smirked; that had gone over pretty well.


TAG: galactic-vagabond422, Trieste (just because)

 

IC: Mylessa McCloud
Six Boroughs Stadium

The Game of Rivals​

​

"Eyes on me, eyes on me!" Mylessa yelled over the insane roar of the Smuggler faithful.​

She loved Six Boroughs. She loved the new stadium because the acoustics were incredible. The way the sound carried. The way the cheers and the boos flew in and around every steel girder. The way the grass seemed to glow brighter, take on a richer hue, when illuminated by the glorious lights that made the skull and blasters logo of this venerable franchise pop out. Yes, Kaitlyn's ghost was very much in this stadium. So far, the year was going strong. So far the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers weren't out of contention but this was the moment in the playoff hunt where the good teams excelled and the lesser teams started to look at next season's draft.This was the time for the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers to begin their playoff push.​

​

"There's only a handful of you that remain from the great 278 championship roster," Mylessa said, "but I want you all to know that I consider all of you worthy of winning the greatest prize of them all: destroying the Mando'ade Mercs. There is no finer glory that can be obtained on this pitch than seeing that team defeated with a hard punch right in the mouth. We will not back down. We will not step aside. We are going to go out there and play hard, fast, Limmie, the Smuggler way, the only way we know how! You know the game plan. Leed's in charge of the defense and I'll be coordinating the offense. Time your shots carefully. Mauntauk and Tullo are a dangerous pairing. Force them to make the critical mistake. Force them to have to think about what you are going to do out there. The chemistry is there, the attack plan is there, now I need you guys to really take it to the next level. This is the time when we start to make our push. Remember, they hate you out there. They absolutely hate your guts. They will not stop until you are bleeding profusely or dead. I've been there. I know what these Mercs can do. They're riding high because they won the Final last year. Fine. I seem to remember that we won the year before. This game is for the control of the conference right here. This game is the one you're going to look back years from now and know that you fought as hard as you could. This is for real, people. This is as real as it gets. We're in 'win-now' mode for the rest of the season."​

​

"Do or die, let's go!" Jayla Leed yelled as she slapped the defense on the back.​

​

"Reaver," Mylessa yelled as the rest of the team headed out onto the pitch.​

​

"Yeah, boss," Erin replied.​

​

"Work Shaw into the offensive attack. They're going to focus on you and Lereoux. I know they are.You push them hard right up the gut, you hear me? You know Shaw's ready for this. Now we're going to unleash her," Mylessa said referring to second year midfielder Annabelle Shaw.​

​

"As you wish," Erin replied and gave Mylessa a pat on the shoulder, "be just like old times."​

​

"You got that right," Mylessa said as she put on her headset and the game began.​

​

Tag: Bardan_Jusik​

 

IC: Tendra Nalo
Location: Practice field, Ta'a Chume'Dan, Hapes
Time: Two days before Week 8 games

Tendra filled a cup with Gundarkade and plopped her butt down on the sideline. Coach Leota Avoy had just allowed her a short break. As she sipped the sports drink, she considered the season up to this point. The first two weeks, she had thought, were the growing pains of a team that had gone through more changes in a single offseason than they had in all of their previous time in their current Elite League stint combined. Week 3 had been vindication, proof that everyone could work together. But the team had fallen apart after that. Seven. Four. Five. Those were the number of points scored by the C-Bucs in each of their next three games after the win over Carratos, their lone win on the season.

Tendra knew what the problem was. Everyone was too distracted by the mess on Gallinore. After Owen Magnus had completed his League-imposed two-game suspension for deliberately allowing a Thyferra goal in protest of the C-Bucs' no-men policy, he had refused to dress for practices and had been suspended for each game thereafter by the Firedrakes' coach. To make matters worse, the other men on the Firedrakes were supporting him in his protest, at first verbally via statements to the press and on social media. More recently, at last week's game on Tatooine, two other men had refused to play. Now there was talk about the rest of the men joining them this week at home against Byblos.

As if on cue, Tendra spotted Adanna Inviere walking out and hailing Leota Avoy. The two chatted for a moment, and Tendra read the words “Gallinore” and “needs players” on Inviere's lips. Tendra groaned. The Firedrakes only had twelve females on their roster; if every male player went on strike all at once, Gallinore wouldn't be able to play games unless players were sent down from the big club as strikebreakers. Tendra desperately hoped that Inviere didn't send her down, because she was one of the few females that supported allowing men on the C-Bucs' roster. She didn't know if she would be willing to act as a strikebreaker when she supported the cause of the striking players.

Leota blew her whistle and called everyone over to her. Tendra pitched her empty cup to the side and jogged over, taking her place in the back as a rookie should. “Alright everyone, listen closely here,” Leota began. “First off, I think everyone is making improvements despite the distraction of the Gallinore protests. You've all been on your game today, and without additional distractions I would have said that we have a great shot of winning on Rydonni Prime in two days.”

The coach paused for a moment, and the captain spoke up. “What do you mean by 'would have'?” Wai Lin asked.

“Unfortunately, we do have a new distraction. Word from Gallinore is that all of the male players on the Firedrakes have joined forces and are refusing to play this weekend. As you might be aware, Gallinore's roster does not have enough females to field a full team without men. This obviously creates a problem. The choices are to either have Gallinore forfeit this week's game, or to fill the roster with females. As it is too late to bring free agents in and have them ready before game day, those females must come from the C-Bucs. So I need three to six volunteers who are willing to be demoted to the LFL for this week. Anyone?”

Tendra looked at everyone else, and realized that everyone else was doing the same thing. Finally, reserves El-Enda Shamai and Abbey Waters raised their hands.

“That's two,” Leota said. “Anyone else? We will not force anyone, but we do not want to forfeit the game.”

There was silence for a minute, then a voice in the front spoke. “I'll go.”

Tendra jerked her head around to look at who spoke, and it seemed that Leota was just as shocked. “Wai, no,” the coach said. “We need your leadership here with the C-Bucs.”

Wai Lin shook her head. “I can't allow this organization to forfeit a game, even an LFL game, knowing that I could have done something to prevent it,” she said in a firm tone. “Besides as C-Bucs captain, maybe I can talk to those men and get through to them where others have failed.”

Leota took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Alright, it's clear I won't be able to change your mind, so I'll allow it. That gives us the three we need to field a full team, but a few subs would be nice. Anyone?”

With the team captain taking one for the team, several players quickly raised their hand, and Leota had to pick and choose. “Okay, Eri'anya Dinoa and Sharsy Wenips, you're on the Firedrakes for this weekend. I'm not going to send anymore down because I don't want to weaken this team any more than I have to.

“However, we need to choose a temporary captain for the Monarchs game. Wai, do you have a preference or should I choose?”

Wai thought for a moment, “It's your choice, but I think even though she's a rookie, Tendra seems to be a natural leader.”

Tendra blushed for a moment as Leota spoke. “Sounds fine to me. Tendra will be our captain for the Monarchs game, unless she objects?”

Tendra needed a moment to find words. “I'm willing to do it.”

“Great. Those of you going to Gallinore, hit the showers now because we're shipping you out as soon as possible. Everyone else, stay here.” Five players jogged to the locker room as Leota went over the game plan for the Monarchs, then dismissed everyone for the day.

Tendra walked into the locker to find Wai Lin waiting at her locker. “Thanks for the honor,” Tendra said as she sat down.

“I think you've earned it, even if only for one game. I think you'll do great as captain. Just don't put too much pressure on yourself. That's the biggest mistake new captains make.”

“Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.”

Wai pointed to the bench beside Tendra. “Oh, and right before you walked in, that red comlink rang. I answered it thinking that I could hand it to you when you came in so you wouldn't miss the call, but the guy on the other end cussed me out and hung up.”

Tendra picked up the comlink and looked at it, as she was silently overcome with relief and frustration. It was the lone connection she had to someone very close to her, and it had not rung since late last season in the Juniors, the day the Miners had offered her a contract. She knew exactly who had called, what words the guy had said, and the fact that it was not meant as an insult, but as a security measure; the correct counter-passphrase had to be given or the guy would hang up. And any calls had to be initiated from the other guy's end; for Tendra to initiate a call could potentially result in the death of the person on the other end. She was relieved that the other person was safe for now, having not had even attempted contact for over a year, but frustrated that she had again missed her chance to speak to him.

However, she kept these emotions private as Wai continued. “Anyway, you might want to contact the police and report that.”

“Nah, we'll let it slide. If he calls and does that again, then I'll report it,” Tendra lied.

“Your call. Anyway, I know it's going to be tough being down five players, and without me passing to you. Just do your best. Adanna says we'll have a more permanent solution in place next week, so the five of us should be back for the Ylesia game.”

“Will do.”

Wai walked away, and Tendra had an idea. After she showered and changed back into street clothes, she placed her practice shorts in her bag and retrieved her away game shorts from the uniform storage room, leaving a note to explain where they were. When she got home, she got out her sewing machine, and sewed a small pocket inside the right hip of both pairs of shorts, in front of the right leg. The pocket was hidden between the two layers of fabric in such a way that it would not been seen on a casual inspection, unless one looked really, really closely. She would use these pockets to carry the red comlink on her even when on the field, so she would not again miss a call while on the field.

Elite League rules prohibited the carrying or wearing of any electronic device on the field during a game, but Tendra did not care about that technicality. She would keep it on vibrate during games and it was hidden anyway. The ref would almost certainly not know it was there. Even if she could not answer the call, she wanted to know that a call had come in, and not risk someone else answering it.

After sleeping on it, she decided to spill everything about the red comlink to Leota on the shuttle to Rydonni Prime. The coach agreed that she could leave practice on a moment's notice to answer it if it went off, but argued with her for ten minutes on carrying it in the hidden pocket during games. Finally, Leota gave up and agreed to let her carry it, under the condition that the team would not support her if she was caught, which Tendra agreed to.

When game day arrived, Tendra fingered the “C” that had been sewn over her left breast as she sat in the locker room listening to Leota. The coach finished her talk, and looked at Tendra. Oh, frak, Tendra thought when she realized she was expected to speak. She stood up, and out of nowhere words came to her.

“The mission before us is difficult, but not impossible. We are shorthanded, because five of our players have taken one for the team this week. Your job is to show the world, show the galaxy that you will not let their sacrifice bring this team to its knees. Go out there and fight hard. Fight like you did in the Carratos game. And if you play like I know you can, we will depose the Monarchs. We will overthrow them. We will show the galaxy that the Hapes Consortium will not be subservient to the royalty of the Elite League any more. Are you going to let the Monarchs rule over us?”

“NO!” yelled the team in unison.

“Then it is time for a revolution! Say it with me on three! One! Two! Three!”

“REVOLUTION!” everyone yelled at once.

The team filed into the tunnel, and Tendra followed them out the door before remembering that she was supposed to be at the front now as the captain. She started at the back of the line and fist-bumped each player in turn as she made her way to the front, then waited as she placed her hand on the hidden pocket, feeling the red comlink hidden inside. The stadium announcer introduced the C-Bucs, and and Tendra led the team onto the field.

It was time to make war. It was time to overthrow the Monarchs.

TAG: CPL_Macja (for both the LFL and the ELL tomorrow) Trieste (in case you want to take note of the hidden comlink)

 

GM Post

Things are getting good in the ELL these days! There's an exciting back drop going into Week 8. Bonus potential for Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Hapes, Mando'ade, Nar Shaddaa, and Ralltiir.

Week 8 Results

Ylesia Lightning at Kashyyyk Rangers (12-26)
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers at Rydonni Prime Monarchs (11-14)
Chandrila Patriots at Bakura Miners (0-14)
Mando’ade Mercs at Nar Shaddaa Smugglers (3-24)
Denon Demons at Ralltiir Starkillers (18-6)
Coruscant Senators at Carratos Pirates (19-2)

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

 

Sub–GM Post

Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Gallinore Firedrakes (30), Tatooine Sandskimmers (30), and Thyferra Force (30).

Limmie Futures League – Week 7
Week 7
Byblos Red Wings at Gallinore Firedrakes (22–13)
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Thyferra Force (1–8)
Eriadu Thunder at Concordia Crusaders (22–1)

TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Jedi Gunny

 

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



The hallway that led from the locker room to the concourse (and from there out onto the field) was a memorial to greatness. If you put on a Miners jersey, you hoped that your likeness would one day be here in holographic glory.

There were eight holograms, not quite large as life, but still bigger than a standard holo. In glorious, vibrant color they showed each Galactic Cup championship team that the Miners had fielded in franchise history. They served to remind the players at every home game that this was the tradition that they continued as they took the field. Every time they were a call, a challenge, to realize the potential inside them to be champions. Some days they were a rebuke, making the long shadow of a hard loss even longer.

The walk out of the locker room began with 166 ABY, a roster over a century old from the early days of the Elite League. Back then, more people thought about “Team Bakura” than this entity known as the “Bakura Miners.” Like every Miner champion, wreaths of edelweiss sat on their heads with its white starburst flowers. Then there were the teams of 172 and 185, proof of a Miners franchise that was building itself into a perennial contender, a championship each decade.

That hope ended pretty quickly. It took another 40 years for the Miners to win a Galactic Cup again and it, more precisely, took Dana Roslyn, a being who would have an enormous impact on the fortunes of the team, to do it. As Alana passed by, she thought her antecedent in the captaincy looked so young and fresh, full of Agamarian vigor, not at all the stern and imposing general manager who had plucked her from UB Cape Suzette, who had seen something in her.

It was another 26 years before the next picture. Here in 252, Roslyn was the head coach. Gaeriel Valerii was in the prime of her career. The husband and wife team of Westley and Buttercup Roberts sat in front, him in her arms, the Galactic Cup next to them. Alana had admired them in retrospect, when she’d learned something of the players who had reached the mountaintop.

Alana remembered the team in 259. Just two weeks ago she’d been talking with Valerii about them, about that team that she had captained in the middle of a civil war. Players had walked out of contracts because they wouldn’t play for the Prime Minister as she waged war on their home counties. That team had emerged victorious, just like the Federal Union would in a few years. It had given a teenage Alana a glimpse of what this sport looked like at its best. It had been then that, for the first time, she had dreamed of what it would be like to be that good, to win a galactic championship against beings of all species and origins.

In the next hologram, there she was front and center, a second year captain, experiencing precisely what 13 years earlier had been just a fantasy. Even as late as the start of that offeseason, it had been a long shot. They were the last seed in the conference. The new hot hand of Pam Kor’the stood in the Miners way right out of gate. In the conference final, the first Solo Conference Final ever played, they had to go to the Grande Villa and win. Back then, the Villa had been even grande-er, before the explosion had reduced its number of seats. And then in the Final, the defending champions, the Commissioner’s Trophy winners, the Vandelhelm Jets and Phil Brooks. The odds had been long--longer than long.

But yet they’d won. For the first time, a non-human in a Miner uniform had lifted the Galactic Cup. The players in that holo...the flooded back. Corrie Andersen, a forgotten great. Dorf Landa, what a hulk of a being anchoring the center forwards. Adanna Invierre on the return swing through Bakura, already a champion in her own right. Everett North, her partner in crime. Fresh faced rookie Nelly Wizmark. A vindicated Aron Rodders.

And on top of it all, that year she’d rediscovered the being who would be her husband that season.

271...a good year.

So many of those faces were gone a mere four years later in 275. In fact, only four remained. Alana’s, of course. Aron’s. Nanchecka Stormborn’s. Nelly’s. The roster had almost been completely rebuilt. Falene Trieste had been part of it. The Hapans, Alesh and Morlan, had been another part. Jolla, what a rock, next to Alana. Deenever, who had burst onto the scene in a big way as a rookie. Ponie Ternardiel, who had been gritty all season long, playing the edge like you expected someone from Nar Shaddaa to do. And Comstock--oh what a revelation she’d been.

The game had been a rout, start to finish. Corellia had never stood a chance, but the Miners had never let up. Poor sportsmanship? In retrospect, yeah, but this was the Galactic Cup. You took no chances.

Niall had proposed to her, on the field of all places, at the conclusion of that game. They’d eaten wedding cake from the Galactic Cup during the offseason. Alana knew some folks thought that was disrespectful. If you asked her, it was the only way to eat wedding cake. It tasted much better laced with championship.

Two years later, there were new faces here and there. The corner backs had been rebuilt with Lyriss, Penn, and Ward. Dorvan Fiesta was just starting out. Thum Wowcin, who had stepped in so ably during Ponie’s arrest and trial and then stepped aside so graciously when she came back on the eve of the Final, an unsung hero. But other than that, it was much the same team as 275. They’d rammed their way clean through the Mercs in a thrilling Final, one that had tested this Miner team more than any other. That year had been magic, nothing short of sheer magic. A clash of titans, as proved by the Mercs’ title two years later.

And she’d shared that moment with her son. He hadn’t even been a year old. She doubted even now Olivar remembered. Sometimes they looked at the pictures together, to remind him that he’d been there, of what she’d accomplished with him in her life. Alana hoped he’d remember that.

And that brought Alana to the door, the end of the hallway. She looked back at the series of holos receding towards the locker room. They encapsulated so many memories, including her own. Did they have enough in them, sitting last in the conference, to make some more? Alana didn’t know.

All she knew was that she couldn’t stop trying.

---

In contrast to earlier efforts, the Miners had stepped up their attention to defense and Alana was part of that effort. She wasn’t jumping into the offensive zone as much, trying to cut off the Patriot attack at midfield. Norran Findal was her assignment today and he was not appreciating the extra attention. Hands to the face, interference, tripping--she was getting it all and she wasn’t getting the calls that came with it.

At a stop in play she wandered over to the ref, a Sullustan, who was standing nearby. He was a veteran ref and Alana had a good rapport with him. She couldn’t believe he was missing all of this. Even Reina Kether would have called these penalties if she had the whistle. The frustration was too much.

“Hey Mickey, Norran’s got me in a headlock out here. What are you waiting for, blood?” Alana asked.

All of a sudden the Sullustan shrieked on the whistle. “Unsportsmanlike conduct. Free kick, Chandrila!”

Alana’s mouth dropped open and she put her hands out, palms up, silently demanding an answer. She’d said a heck of a lot worse than that to refs in her career and hadn’t gotten as much as an eyelash batted at her. Mickey started walking away and Alana followed in disbelief as the crowd started booing, realizing what had just happened.

Mickey swung around. “You want another one? You want another one?”

“What did I say? Just because you’re having a bad day, don’t take it out on me!” Alana said, angry at the blatant unfairness of the situation.

Another toot on the whistle and the Sullustan made an exaggerated pull of a fist with one finger pointing behind him. “You’re outta here Alana!”

“What? Are you nuts? This is my farewell tour!” Alana shouted. Now the crowd was really riled up.

“Oh good! Then let me be the first to farewell! Get outta here!” Alana started vehemently protesting, but Mickey just walked away. Standing not too far away was Patriot captain Avano Koobis, who was sniggering, obviously at what was happening. “Hey! What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing,” Koobis said in Rodian. Jolla, who had noticed what was going on, had come over and was gently holding Alana back from doing something stupid, which meant that the pair could hear the entire exchange.

“That’s it! Unsportsmanlike conduct--for lying!”

“Are you out of your mind?” Koobis asked.

“Am I out of my mind? Am I crazy?” Mickey repeated. He blasted the whistle again and made the same pull motion. “You’re outta here too!”

Now Koobis was protesting a parsec a minute. When things first started getting hot at midfield, Gaeriel Valerii had come out onto the field--which she wasn’t supposed to do. “What’s going on out here? Did you just throw my captain out?”

“Yeah, that’s right I did! And you know what, you’re gone too!” the Sullustan said.

“Are you frakking kidding me?” Valerii shouted.

“Yeah, I’m getting a standup routine on Stewjon tomorrow! Tickets are 20 credits at the door, 15 in advance!”

“You’re getting in the way of the game! Nobody came to see you ref, Mickey!” Valerii shouted.

“Nobody paid to see you do anything!”

Now Reina Kether came over, likely more out of morbid curiosity than anything. “Mickey, what’s--”

“And you’re gone too!” Mickey called out.

“I didn’t even finish my sentence!” Kether said, “You can’t throw me out like that! That wasn’t even worth it! At least let me cuss you out if you’re going to toss me!”

“Cry me a river!” Mickey replied.

Nobody was happy with what was going on and each team worked their ejected player and coach towards their sidelines to prevent further damage. The chorus of boos was being directed at the defiant official. Teammates gave Alana slaps on the back as she left. Ejected, for the first time in her career, and in her last season no less. Embarrassing. Disgraceful. Unfair. And it was only the first half.

“I got thinks, Gaeri,” Hulu said, “We’ll take care of them.”

“Peg Mickey a couple times with the ball, would you?” Valerii requested.

The Khil didn’t reply to that as Alana and Gaeriel went down the tunnel back to the locker room. “Hey Coach?” Alana said.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

“Is it to find some mustaches and go hang out on the sidelines?” Valerii asked.

“No, I’ve got a better idea.”

---

Miners locker room

“Are you kidding me? Gary missed a wide open net like that?” Alana cried out in frustration as she watched the locker room vidscreen.

“That’s right, Keline! Show this overhyped Miner offense what real goalkeeping looks like,” Reina Kether said smugly.

At Alana’s suggestion, the ejected Patriots snuck through the back corridors of the Gardens to join Valerii and her to watch the game. They’d found some beer and had kicked their feet up to see what their teams could do without them.

“Excuse me? Who’s working a you-know-what right now?” Valerii said, pointing with the hand holding her beer at the top corner of the vidscreen that showed a zero next to the letters CHA.

“A what? A shutout?” Koobis said in Rodian.

“Don’t you dare say that. That’s mean,” Valerii said.

“Shutout. Shutout. Shutout. Shutout. Shut. Out. Shutout. Shutout. Shutout. Shutout. Shutout,” Kether shot off rapid fire.

“I hate you,” Valerii said.

“You deserve it,” Kether said.

“Here we go. This is about 252, isn’t it?”

“How could it not be about 252?” Kether demanded, “That was a flagrant foul you took and it went uncalled. Should have been a free kick right in front of the box.”

“That was a good limmie play and you know it,” Valerii insisted.

“You were pulling my kriffing jersey over my head!”

“I barely touched you!”

“Ladies, ladies, how many Galactic Cups do you both have?” Alana interjected.

“More than her as a player,” Kether said.

“More than her as a coach,” Valerii said.

“More than her as a general manager,” Kether said.

“I have never been a general manager,” Gaeriel said, “That’s completely unfair.”

“And you’re arguing about one Cup why?” Alana asked.

“This was different,” Kether replied.

“It absolutely was. We destroyed you,” Valerii said.

“Kerry Trieste owes her whole career to that game. How do you feel about that? Millions of beings dead, wars, destruction,” Kether continued, “All could have been avoided if you’d let us win.”

“The Trieste checks keep clearing and I’ve got five Galactic Cups. Wait, how many do you have Reina?”

“I hate you so much.”

“We’ll win another championship and fix that,” Koobis said.

“Just try winning this game,” Alana said.

“Game’s not over yet,” Koobis said.

“And we’re up 11-0. Just try scoring a point.”

“Sith take you Lizbit Comstock if you shut us out,” Koobis said, “Lorem’s going to break through. Shutout and shutdown gone in one stroke.”

“We might be losing the game,” Kether said, “but at least we’re not last in our conference.”

“It’s a tight conference,” Valerii said, “We’re still in it.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when you leapfrog everyone to get the third spot,” Kether said, “Something tells me that’s not going to happen.”

“We’ve got two conference games left,” Alana said, “We control our destiny.” Alana hadn’t checked that, but she assumed given the tight nature of the conference.

“And you’ve got a trip to Nar Shaddaa next week. Have fun with that,” Koobis said, “They’re hot right now. And I mean hot.”

“You know what you should do to throw them off their game?” Kether said, “Punch Mylessa McCloud in the face.”

“Still bitter about that?” Valerii asked.

“No, I’m serious. If Kaitlyn Vehn’s not around anymore to get punched, McCloud’s as good as anyone else,” Kether said.

“I am not punching anyone in the face.”

“I’m going to start writing down numbers on this sheet of flimsi. You tell me when you see one you like…”

“Hulu, I’m going to kill you,” Valerii exclaimed, “Look at that team! They’re protecting the lead! He’s given up playing offense! This is what happens when you let someone who’s obsessed with defense have the reins! Where’s my power offense?! My glorious power offense!”

“And still we can’t break through,” Koobis grumbled.

“You know they’re gonna have to take Mickey out of here in an armored speeder,” Reina observed.

“That’s exaggerating,” Alana said.

“Excuse me? This is Bakura? You’ve got booze in the locker room.” Kether held up her bottle. “Yeah, I’m sure that 100,000 drunk limmie fans are going to be really understanding when he leaves.”

“For the record, it’s probably only about 80,000, 90,000 tops,” Valerii said, “The kids in the stands aren’t drunk.”

“Well nice to know you have some standards here,” Kether muttered.

“Hey, game’s got about seven minutes left,” Alana said, “That’s enough time for you to get back to your locker room before anyone finds out you were over here.”

“True enough. Think Lokensgaard would fine us for having a couple drinks during a game?” Kether asked.

“Shouldn’t have thrown us out if he was worried about that,” Valerii said.

“Say, when the game is over are we still ejected?” Alana asked.

“That’s a really good question…” Koobis agreed.

---

For the second time in two seasons, Lizbit Comstock had a shutout. Alana and Valerii watched the final minute from the edge of the tunnel--which was not technically on the field. They joined in the congratulations of the goalkeeper on a bounceback game that was sorely needed after a rough part of the middle of the season. It was precisely what the team needed, especially with a trip to high flying Nar Shaddaa on the docket.

Kether and Glencross posed for the media in the postgame hullabaloo, shaking hands. They were the redheaded wonders of two generations of limmie, together.

“I want a rematch for 252 before you go,” Kether said.

“I’ll take it,” Alana said.

“All you got to do is beat the Smugglers and Senators between now and then and pick up a couple playoff wins,” Reina said, “Shouldn’t be a problem. I did it loads of times.”

“Don’t be cheeky,” Alana replied.

“Never stopped you.”

“Usually doesn’t,” Alana smiled.

The Miners, three weeks ago all but eliminated from the playoffs, were back in contention. Alana knew that they’d gotten lucky. These three teams...there was something about them, like they just didn’t have the same potential as the rest of the League. There was something extra special about the other teams. Yes, this had been the easy part of their schedule. Now came the heavy lifting.

Of course it would be on Nar Shaddaa, Alana thought, It’s always got to be them…

TAG: Vehn

 

IC: Briar Thorne
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium, Carratos

Rebuilding seasons weren’t an easy proposition. They required a certain amount of distrust in a team’s ability to perform well on the galaxy’s biggest stage as currently constructed with an eye towards the future. Briar had come into this season fully expecting the project on Coruscant to take a while; after all, it had taken Euceron several seasons to do just that, as her assistant GM pointed out time and again. There was no such thing as a quick fix that would solve all of a team’s problems. Case in point was the Senators’ ‘miracle run’ to a 6-3 season in 278 after going winless in 277; that season had flamed out with a hard loss against Rydonni Prime in the playoffs, followed by a 3-8 season that had prompted Gark S’rily to step down and name Briar as his successor. What had been a quick fix there had been the draft and the signings of some veterans. While those moves looked good at the time, they eventually flamed out, and the team sputtered to a halt as they dropped back to the league cellar. So Briar knew the quick fix philosophy would not work with this franchise; it would have to be built from the bottom up.

She had pared the 279 roster down to size, with only 9 returning players from the prior season on the Opening Day 280 squad. The rest of the team had been filled out by a mix of rookies, washed-up veterans on short contracts, and a few filler players. It was intended to be a growth experience for the rookies, with veterans taking the majority of the lumps as the younger players developed. But there was no way to keep all the rookies from taking hard times to the chin. Zuzu Nuun, the first overall pick in the Draft, had earned herself a starting role at the left corner; Klay Mettews, the blonde-locked rookie half back, had won a job at half back. Maddy Swann, the second-round draft pick, was the #2 midfielder on the team, ahead of two rookies. Rookie Eddy Munster played a critical role as the first half back, maybe the first defensive back, off the bench. They were going to be out there the most, and would take their share of punishment from more experienced teams. Few other teams were going through similar situations with all sorts of rookies, and thus it put the Senators at a disadvantage in pretty much every game. They didn’t have the collective experience, featuring at least a dozen rookies during the course of the first eight games of the season. So expecting to lose a lot of games in 280 made perfect sense; nothing came free in the Elite League.

So it was a pleasant surprise for Briar to see her team go into Goss-Pell and run the home team out of their territory. The final score of 19-2 almost wasn’t indicative of the overall domination of the visitors over the home team; it had been a complete rout out there. Despite missing captain and star corner back Christine Gamble with her leg injury, the Senator defense had found the missing link in the prior few weeks’ games and locked down the Carratos offense. There was a sense of nervousness coming into the game for the defenders. They weren’t a spectacular bunch by any means, with three rookies in the half back rotation, another as a reserve full back, and two rookie corners, including one having to start in place of Gamble in Kelly Vurgess. The young Hapan had done an OK job against her fellow Hapans in the C-Bucs game, but this game presented a mighty challenge. The fact that no one knew what the Pirates would throw at them made the defenders unsure of how to defend the play. There was no real gameplan except to make things up as the game went along. So to see this level of domination was rather unexpected, although Briar gained a sense of satisfaction from it. Logan Manx, the star full forward for the Pirates, didn’t find any room against a suddenly-stifling Senators defense. Pamila Korthe, the defensive coordinator, had called for double teams when possible, and had used a series of little-used zone formations to keep the Pirates from doing too much damage. The defenders kept off their matchups, preferring to stop suicide rushes on goal while giving up the outer perimeter of the field. The Pirates couldn’t penetrate the soft spot of the typical 3-2-1 defensive look, the zone formation giving them fits. It made things easy for Camille Montes in goal; she made quite a few easy saves on desperation heaves by Pirate forwards, and only allowed two balls to sail over the bar. It was her first no-goal game since shutting out the C-Bucs in 279, and it gave the goaltender confidence going into a rough three-game stretch to finish the season. Vurgess looked like a star out on the field, doubling Manx along with full back Deluxx at times but also making plays in the open field. It was no Christine Gamble, but it was a start for the young rookie. Klay Mettews was a blur out on the field. With his blonde hair flying in a ponytail, he wrestled Pirates forwards down, harassed them when he couldn’t take them down, and tipped several passes to cut Carratos offensive possessions short. Perhaps he was the half back the Senators needed to lead the unit as a whole.

On offense, the Senators were having their way with the Pirate defenders. Although the half backs for the home team were as stout as ever, the corner and full forwards were running roughshod through the Carratos defense. Leia Adama scored on a nice kick from the corner of the box, her tenth goal of the season. Zuzu Nuun headed in a ball that had been tipped by a Pirates defender near the end of the first half, putting up her ninth goal of the year. Although the Senator offense was still somewhat inconsistent, Briar hoped to see Nuun’s name on the Ingbrand nominee list this year. Even if she didn’t win the award, the corner forward definitely deserved the recognition for almost single-handedly taking pressure off Adama and being a viable second option on offense. In the second half, Anya Amasova, recently-returned to the team after bereavement leave in the Consortium to deal with grief over losing her mother prior to the season, punched in a goal from the top of the formation. Somehow the ball found its way through the Pirates defense, and as soon as the ball went into the net, Amasova fell to her knees and looked up at the sky. Briar couldn’t tell, but it looked like the Hapan said a few words to herself before her teammates got to her. She had been wearing a necklace out on the field that her mother had once worn, and was paying homage on the goal to her maternal guardian. It was a very touching moment for those who knew what she had gone through. Laura Cellen, making another start for the injured Becki Morlan, had chipped in seven points on a pair of goals and a bar point.

At midfield, Alysha Romax put in another solid performance. She cleared the zone when necessary, and made plays to stall the Pirate offense. Maddy Swann did a good job as the number two midfielder, and showed some signs of great talent that Briar had seen in college tapes. Perhaps Swann would someday be able to take over for Romax when the older midfielder retired. After all, Romax had been playing since 267, so her career was winding down.

At the end of the game, the Senators had walked away with an impressive win. They had handled a potent Pirates offense, and had made enough plays on offense to keep up a good scoring clip and bury the home team early. Their General Manager was pleased to see them play so well, especially without Gamble. Of special note was Leia Adama; the third-year full forward seemed to have calmed down after her nervous start the prior week, and had directed traffic like a captain had to. She needed a lot more work on how to lead a team every week, but it was only her second game as full captain, so there was plenty of leeway on that front. Her teammates seemed to respond to her, and it had worked out well against the Pirates.

Now the Senators were 4-4, and while tied for last place in the Conference, were also a game out of playoff contention with three games left. And the game coming up was against one of the teams ahead of them, the Ralltiir Starkillers. The winner of that game would have a major springboard into the playoff spots cluster after nine weeks, although nothing was for certain in the Solo this season. There was no degree of separation like in the Skywalker Conference. It would be a gritty and battering last three weeks for all six teams, trying to lock up playoff spots and have their shot at the Galactic Cup. Things were especially difficult for the Senators, with a rough schedule coming up of Ralltiir, Mandalore, and finishing up on Bakura. Nothing about those games said ‘easy’, so they would all be dogfights to the bitter end.

And in some perverse way, Briar liked it that way. Her team was overachieving, and while conventional wisdom probably suggested that the Senators tank the final three games for a better draft pick, she wasn’t buying it. After all, you couldn’t rebuild forever; at some point you had to use what you had at your disposal and make a run at being a contender. Most likely this season wouldn’t end in a playoff spot, but the Senators, predicted to go 2-9 on the season, were 4-4, and very much in the playoff chase.

It was time to see the real mettle of this team.


TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Madelyne Till

The game began on a high note. Kaat purposely stepped to the side when Denon made their first attempt on goal and allowed for Ty to catch the shot. He cradled the ball like a baby to celebrate the birth of his son.



From there it was all downhill. It’s never fun to lose. Especially when the team is your creation. I helped to select these individuals. I sacrificed my time with my children and grandchildren. I had given everything I knew how to give. I believed in this team and I felt crushed. On top of that it was Mother’s Day and I knew my family had been hoping to make my day special. I didn’t want them to feel like they had let me down. All I wanted to do in the final minutes at the game against Denon was to sneak out a back exit, fly home and eat ice cream out of the carton.

What I had to do was leave my baby in my daughter Justyne’s care while Trey, Ty and I went to face a room full of reporters. I was a complete mess. Trey could see this so he stopped us outside the press room. Trey put one arm around me and the other around Ty brining us into a huddle. “Maddie this loss is not your fault. It’s mine,” he said looking into my eyes. I wanted to argue, but he didn’t give me the chance. “Don’t let those reporters shake your confidence. All three of our losses have come at home. I’ll take some responsibility for that. You ask that ticket holders to do their part.” I nodded the confidence in Trey’s voice was contagious. “You good to go?” Trey asked turning towards his team captain.

“Ready.”

Ty and Trey took questions ranging from our steadfast refusal to allow players to use their heads to lead tackles or to deflect passes to our strategy to stop a surging Senators team next week. I took the podium last. The very first reporter asked exactly what Trey had predicted. “Mrs. Till all three losses came at home this season. Do you believe the stadium was built too large to create the type of tight knit fan community that can create the positive vibe needed to propel the team to victory? Are you worried your own greed for revenue has allowed for too many fans of opposing teams to purchase tickets compromising Starkiller wins?”

“Our decision to double the number of seats in Financial Square from our former stadium was to allow for more Starkiller fans to experience games live. Before last season we received countless complaints from fans about sold out games and overpriced re-sale tickets. Next week’s game is our final regular season home game. I challenge the Starkiller faithful to hold on those tickets. Come early next week. Coach Till, myself, several players and staff members will test ride those dunk tanks.”

“Count me in,” Ty called from the side of the stage.

“Get out your frustrations and pump yourselves up for a win against Coruscant. The stoppage of print on the What We Learned column has not dissuaded this organizations decision to hold the Galaxy’s Best Tailgating Party. It’s only encouraged us to hold two of them. Details on contests and giveaways will be given out later this week.”

The reporters nodded as they furiously typed notes into their data pads. Quickly I exited the stage. Trey and Ty followed me out of the room. “I can get you out of the tank duty if I have to,” I told Trey. “I just needed to something to shut them up.”

“It’s okay,” Trey assured. “Maybe this is the team building exercise we need. Sign up the entire roster.”

Stunned I agreed. We all headed to Lucie’s for our Mother’s Day dinner with slightly lifted spirits. Everyone except Fortune was at Lucie’s when Trey, Ty and I arrived. Ty eagerly grabbed Ezra, “Sorry I let you down out there today, little guy. But don’t you worry next week you can come to the game. I’m sure just knowing you’re in the building will give me the boost I need to help us win.”

Little Ezra’s eyes were darting wildly around his living room checking out all the faces of his relatives. “Can I hold him?” Zoey asked.

“Sure,” Ty offered. “Come sit on the sofa here,” Ty patted a cushion and sat down. Zoey eagerly sat down and took her cousin.

“He’s so cute,” Zoey exclaimed.

“He’s my brother,” T.J. proclaimed.

About thirty minutes passed. Fortune never arrived. Finally Justyne announced he was still at the stadium. He planned to practice, all night if he had to. Said he didn’t want to repeat his lousy performance next week. I tried to enjoy dinner. Bat, Ty and Trey took good care of us mothers. Justyne forced a smile as she cut Marty’s meat and wiped spilled milk off his tray. The hurt in her eyes was impossible to miss.

After dinner we had the ice cream I had been craving after the game. Marty tossed his entire bowl on the floor. Justyne stood to get some napkins. “Sit down,” Bat ordered his sister. “It’s your day, I’ll clean it up.” Shaken Justyne sat and watched her brother clean the mess.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“Don’t be,” Bat shot back. “Fortune should be here. This day is in your honor. We have all week to work on Limmie.”

“Zoey, finish your ice cream,” Justyne said fighting tears. “It’s getting late. We should go.” Justyne got up and retrieved her and her children’s belongings. Zoey ate quickly and got up from the table. “Thanks for having us,” Justyne called to Lucie. “Ezra is beautiful, congratulations again.”

Bat ran down the steps to the entryway where Justyne was about to leave with her children. They exchanged whispers I couldn’t make out and Justyne left. Bat ran up the steps back into the kitchen, taking them two at a time. He told Georgia he owed it to his sister to stop by the stadium and give Fortune a piece of his mind. He promised he’d be home to tuck the girls in bed.

“Stay out of it,” Georgia pleaded.

“I love you,” Bat said gently. “I’ll be home in an hour, I promise.” Bat kissed his daughters, grabbed his keys and disappeared out the front door.

The ice cream didn’t taste as sweet as when Ty first served it. Mostly half eaten bowls were left on the table as Trey, Tomas, Louise and I said our good-bye’s.

When we got home Trey surprised me with new earings and dance warm-ups. The events at dinner were quickly forgotten. Trey and I silenced our data pads and headed for the bedroom. We got up early the next morning. Trey was composing a message to his players for a mandatory meeting that afternoon and I was busy coordinating activities for this week’s tailgating dress rehearsal. Trey opened his mailbox to send his final draft. “Sithspit, Kriff! Kriff! Kriff!”

“Trey it can’t be that bad,” I started.

“Madelyne,” he said gently. “I’m going to make a call. Wait here,” he ordered. I was too nervous to even sip my caf. I packed bottles for Louise in preparation to go to the stadium.

Tomas entered the kitchen. “What’s coach yelling about?” He asked.

“I don’t know yet. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Was your sister still asleep?”

“I didn’t hear her.”

“I better go check,” I went upstairs and found Louise to still be asleep so I headed back down. Trey stood at the bottom of the steps with his hand on Tomas’ shoulders.

“Come on,” he said gesturing to a sofa in the living room. “I got bad news,” he said once we were seated. “Bartholomew was arrested last night.”

It felt like my heart stopped beating and I literally had to gasp for air. “What for?” I heard Tomas ask.

Trey reached out and held me hand for support. “A D.U.I.,” he said calmly. “Luckily no one was hurt. He was sleeping it off at Ty and Lucie’s. Ty should be delivering him to my office at any moment. Are you okay to take Tomas to school?”

I nodded.

“No fights,” Trey told Tomas. “Can you manage a day at school? The kids are going to be rough on you.”

“I can handle myself,” Tomas said confidently.

“That’s the spirit Little Vigo,” Trey encouraged. “See you soon,” he said giving me a kiss on the cheek.

Once Trey was gone Tomas grabbed breakfast and turned the holo on to see what was being reported on his brother’s arrest. “There are reporters at the end of the driveway,” he called out.

I sighed heavily as I went to go wake Louise. The school had a security guard assigned to Tomas for the day when we got there. I don’t think Tomas was happy about it, but it made me feel a little better. When I got to the stadium I crawled into the back of the speeder and strapped Louise on my chest. I hid her face under the wrap before I exited my vehicle. “There will be a press conference at noon,” I hollered out to the waiting reporters. Security helped me inside and I quickly made my way to Trey’s office. Trey stood outside waiting for me.

“What do we do?” I asked.

“You tell me,” Trey encouraged. “It’s your team. Pretend the young man in there isn’t your son. What punishment do you think is appropriate for a D.U.I.?”

“Suspended for the rest of the season?”

“Why are you making a question out of it? If that’s what you think is appropriate let’s go give him the news.”

“Aren’t you going to try to talk me down?” I asked. “Don’t you need him to finish out the season?

“I have a bench full of deserving players,” Trey assured.

“Let’s at least hear his side of the story,” I suggested.

“Don’t back down Maddie,” I heard Trey plead as I walked past him and into the office to face my son.

TBC

 

​

IC: The Rancor Pitt

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on a terrible..."

"Terrible."

"...horrible..."

"Horrible."

"...no good..."

"No good."

"...very bad..."

"So bad, so very bad."

"...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 baby do we have a show for you."

"Big show."

"Would you stop repeating everything I say?"

"Sorry Randy, just still having a hard time after this week's loss."

"Well that I can understand, as all opf you listening probably already know the Mercs extended their losing streak to three games this past weekend with a crushing loss to that team from Nal Hutta's moon."

"Worst loss of the season for the team and it couldn't have come at a worse time."

"Or against a worse opponent." Liz pipped up, sounding thoroughly dejected.

"The final score was 24-3 and it wasn't even as close as that lopsided score indicated."

"Have to give it to the Smugglers, they were fired up coming out of the tunnel. I don't know what kind of pep talk they had before the game, but Coach Kor'le needs to get back there and take notes."

"Yeah, this isn't the first time this season that this team has come out flat to start off a big game."

"The season opener, the..."

"How much do you think that early hit by Tullo was a factor?"

"The one that got him ejected from the game?"

"Yeah, that one."

"It was a big hit, and dirty too. I expect a good fine for him, though thankfully he didn't injure anyone."

"It did knock Steele flat on his shebs though."

"Yeah, it was a kind of "welcome to the league" moment for him, as well as showing those Smuggler fans that Tullo is on our side of the rivalry now."

"Speaking of, the fans were nuts. I thought Mercs fans were crazy..."

"Well they are."

"But the fans at Six Boroughs..."

"New six Boroughs."

"...were foaming at the mouth."

"Did you catch Jaing's comments after the game? About the insults being hurled their way on the sidelines from the fans."

"It wasn't just that, he said garbage and umm other things were being flung at them too."

"Not sure how much of that I believe, it was a pretty windy day, that could have just been windblown refuse."

"It is a dirty, dirty place."

"Still I think those post game comments, and the way he and the other rookies played showed that the crowd noise, the atmosphere got to them. I think it took them off their game, because this is as bad as i have seen the rooks play since opening day."

"Yeah, they looked pretty rattled out there, nothing defines hostile environment like The Game of Rivals does."

"I've been through my fair share of big rivalry games, and I thought The Game between GVSU and The Ord Sabaok University (Go Bucks) was about as hostile as things could ever get, but this, man it takes the uj."

"Bigger than what you went through during your days as a StarBuck?"

"Oh by far. Just nastier. Pure hatred exists between these two teams and their fanbases, and this was a match up of the last two galactic Cup Champions too. I think the Smugglers organization from the front office on down through the players, and even the fans wanted to show the Mercs that the Skywalker is still their conference, and I hate to say it, they did."

"They spanked us good, no doubt about that."

"And now with three games left to play we are on the outside looking in at a playoff spot."

"Big difference from a few weeks ago."

"Well, that's what we have to look at. Right now the team is playing awful, but before this current losing streak we were on a four game winning run, one that showed the offensive potential that this team has."

"The Mercs still own the league's best offense."

"Which is a crazy stat Kitterich, because after this weekend's debacle I don't think anyone would say that the Mercs have the league's best offense."

"Big part of that was the play of Jayla Leed between the pipes, she was as good as I have seen lately."

"She only gave up three points and earned the shutdown of the Mercs. Mor'kesh scored two of those with Arock chipping in the third late in the game. She held Jaing scoreless though he never got off any really good shots..."

"Sadly I think this game might have taken him out of contention for rookie of the year, the way Sa'Akhuun and Steele played, especially after that hit, was just amazing."

"They seemed to feed off of each other really well. Either of them would be a good pick for the Ingbrand Award..."

"That would compliment Sa'Akhuun's Helmsman nicely."

"...but I don't think Jaing is out of the running yet. I mean, yeah their rookies outplayed ours this week, but we should be back at full strength next week and that should help out the team immensely."

"Yeah but look at who we play next week."

"The Monarchs at Rydonni Prime, a re-match of last season's Galactic Cup final, and if you thought the Smugglers were out for blood, I don't think we have seen anything yet."

TAG: Vehn, CPL_Macja

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines
Starkillers level team suspension on Bartholomew Vigo for remainder of season
League overturns ejections of Alana Glencross, Avano Koobis, Reina Kether, and Gaeriel Valerii. All are eligible for Week 9 games.
Referee Mickey Gorlon suspended by ELL for Week 9 and 10 games
Kether: “It would have been more useful if they’d done that last week. That doesn’t help us have a better shot at winning last week’s game.”
ELL fines Kether 5,000 credits for those comments
League fines Ike Tullo 20,000 credits for hit in Mercs/Smugglers game in Week 8, warns suspension next

TAG: Bardan_Jusik Runjedirun