Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

IC: Adenn Vizsla
Press Conference, Meshla Vhetin, Manda'yaim

The press room was filled to capacity with media and onlookers at the Meshla Vhetin, though Vizsla knew that many of these reporters were still putting together their final thoughts on what had been a terrific 278 ELL season, and a playoffs that much of the galaxy saw concluded with a story book ending. Vizsla and the fans of the Mercs of course did not see it that way, but there was no time for such sentimentality. It was time to get down to business, and the Mercs GM still had a lot of work to do.

He still had three potential free agents on his roster. Finding the time to deal with all three of their agents while also preparing for what was sure to be an exciting draft, had proven problematic, but doable. As it was Se'o was the closest to signing on the dotted line. They had reached what for both sides was an agreeable contract, though neither side got all that it wanted, at least financially. They were stuck on the length of the contract, but Vizsla was sure that soon they would hammer things out and bring their all-star defender back into the fold.

Lycar Naughten was another matter, the Shistavanen forward seemed determined to either get everything he wanted or test free agency. Having to bring in another full forward was not something that appealed to Vizsla, but nothing more could be done aside from giving Naughten everything he wanted. Vizsla wasn't prepared to do that and so he would probably be losing long time Mercs backup turned starter..

Jaya "barefoot" Tam was somewhere in between. She was showing some signs of relenting on her stance of starter money or bust, but her agent was still insisting on more than the Mercs front office was willing to pay. Vizsla gave even odds of her return.

Of course none of that was the reason the Mercs had called this press conference. Vizsla wasn't here to give everyone a detailed rundown of their offseason plans. He was here to announce to the ELL, the galaxy and most importantly to the Mando'ade who the Mercs next head coach would be. Much had been made of the Mercs exhaustive process. Jokes on late night holo-shows, even articles on the parody news channels had all lampooned what they saw as the Mercs drawn out process. Vizsla had ignored them all. He had dug deep, interviewing any candidate that might be able to guide the Mercs to their first Galactic Cup title.

There had been so much turmoil in the Mercs front office since their inception just over 10 years ago. Some of that had been self inflicted in their mad hunt for a title. Other issues had been the result of malicious meddling and even plain bad luck. Three head coaches in that time and four General Managers, it gave no sense of continuity for the team, staff and players. That was something that Vizsla hoped would now all change. He had looked from one end of the Galaxy to the other, looking for a partner to be the Mercs field general for hopefully decades to come. His search had covered every base, looked under every rock. He had interviewed scores of candidates that the media had known and reported about, and scores more in secret. In the end his search had found but one person that he knew he could work with and put his faith in unflinchingly. One person who could lead the team that he put together and bring the Mando'ade home a championship. One person to whom his own legacy would now be tied to for all time. One person that had led to him standing behind the podium, alone, ready to speak and announce his decision. A decision he knew that some would call unorthodox. A decision that others would simply call reckless.

He wasted no time, gave no lengthy speech about the hard work he had put in, or glorifying the credentials of his final choice. The decision was his, and his alone. If the mando'ade didn't approve, they would let him know when his own contract was up or renewal in a couple of seasons. Instead he spoke simply. "Mando'ade and aruetiise. I give you the next head coach of the Mando'ade Mercs."

For a moment there was nothing and the media began to glance to one another anxiously. A low, confused, murmur started. Then as the curtain behind Vizsla began to move, the Mandalorian GM stepped away from the podium slightly, giving the new head coach some room next to him. The low murmur became gasps of surprise from both the media and those Mandalorians who had managed to attend as Vizsla continued. "Mando'ade and aruetiise, I give you..."

Spoiler

...to be continued

TAG: No One.

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Eusebus Police reveal at press conference that an attempted terrorist attack on the Galactic Cup Final was successfully thwarted "well before the stadium could be threatened"
• A combined strike force made up of Jedi and Euceron Starfighter Command pilots shot down all enemy craft over Lake Ganess, 100 kilometers north of Eusebus
• The Euceron task force suffered three casualties, of which two died; their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin
• League applauds rapid and effective response of both Euceron authorities and Jedi Order, saying, "We had every confidence that they would protect the Final and our trust was well placed. We are deeply indebted to those officers who gave their life to keep others safe and honor their memory"
• League announces Alyda Hovechar has failed a drug test for performance enhancing substances. Hovechar has been suspended for four games to start the 279 season
• Deputy Commissioner Gondorf: “The League does not tolerate this, period. We hope that this suspension sends a very clear and strong message to the entire League that punishment will be swift and severe”
• Dev Poletin signs huge 8 year contract with Starkillers
• ELL free agency opens tomorrow: analysts unsure of whether it will begin with a roar or a whimper
• Byblos Red Wings Head Coach Julla Ehennifer resigns. Accepts old position of Head Coach of the GVSU Pilots. It is rumored that her replacement will most likely come from within either the Rydonni Prime Monarchs or Byblos Red Wings organizations
• Former Monarchs and current Red Wings Midfielder, Bry Dougant announces his retirement after Byblos's disappointing loss in the LFL semifinals
• Rydonni Prime announces traditional slate of preseason games:
  • The Civil War at Loronar Colonials (Santhe Stadium)
  • The Fight vs Byblos Red Wings (Monarchs Stadium)
  • The Match at Balmorra Blasters

Friendlies
November 9
Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Loronar Colonials
November 16
Byblos Red Wings at Rydonni Prime Monarchs
November 23
Naboo Ducks at Bakura Miners
Coruscant Senators at Chandrila Patriots
Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Balmorra Blasters

TAG: CPL_Macja jcgoble3 Runjedirun

 

OOC: Approved by Trieste.

Throughout the long flight, Leia spoke only when necessary, her expression severe, her thoughts grim. It was as if she had died and not the officer. I knew what she was going through. War, to her, had been an abstract concept, fought in the infinite vacuum of space. When a starship, or a city, or a planet is destroyed, so many are killed – the numbers are so huge, so incomprehensible – that the human mind cannot relate to them.​

​

But when a single person dies – at one's hands, before one's eyes – it is like looking into a mirror. A bond has been forged between living and dead. A price is demanded of the victor – the terrible awareness that he or she or it has taken the rarest and most precious thing in all creation: a sentient life.​

​

—Aron Peacebringer, after Princess Leia personally killed an Imperial officer during an escape, 3 ABY​

(from Marvel Star Wars #54: Starfire Rising, 1981)​

IC: Jado Nalo
Location: Euceron Stadium, Eusebus, Euceron
Time: Storm fan rally, three days after Galactic Cup Final; three hours before sunset

Jado walked down the concourse, eyes out for trouble. They weren't expecting anything serious, but the Force was clouded. Palla and Zay had sensed it too, earlier in the day, but they had been unable to pinpoint the source of the disturbance. Neither had any of the other seven Jedi, Grand Master Kash Skywalker included, been able to identify it. Instead, the Jedi had told security and police to be extra vigilant tonight.

The gates had opened an hour ago, and some quarter of a million fans had already entered the stadium. Live entertainment was already in progress on the field, and Euceron Storm players, escorted by security, were mingling with fans, signing autographs and posing for pictures. Everyone was having a good time, even Jado as he scanned the crowd in front of him.

Midway through his scan, he was interrupted by the vibration of his comlink. Answering it, he found his father on the other end. “Hey son, get Palla, Zay, and yourself over to the east wing, room B267. We've detained someone who was in an off-limits area, and he won't say anything except that he wants to talk to you three.”

Jado was puzzled, but intrigued. Perhaps this guy had some information on a future attack. Glancing at the wall, he saw that he was standing in front of room B268. He quickly jogged the three meters to B267 and swiped his access card, and the door slid open. Inside, Marte looked up in surprise. “That was fast, son.”

“Well, I was standing right next door. Let me call the other two in.” Jado commed Palla and Zay, and both said they would be there in just a minute.

While he waited, Marte changed the subject. “By the way, I've narrowed down the suspects for who's been messing with the permissions on my access cards. Got three suspects: Worph Sadup, Rymel Gunkin, and Trylak Kanraa.”

“Who are they?”

“All three are stadium security guards. I'm planning to question them tomorrow. I'm leaning toward Gunkin, since he has a background in programming, but it's all circumstantial evidence so far.”

“Cool. Hope you can figure out who it is.”

Just then, Palla entered the room with Zay on her heels. Marte greeted them and repeated to them what he had told Jado, as he showed the group of Jedi into a side room where the detainee was sitting with his hands cuffed behind his back. Palla, as the most senior of the three Jedi, took the lead in peppering him with questions, but didn't even get so much as his name out of him. Finally, she simply asked him what he wanted.

“Immunity,” he said. “In return, I can give you the location of the Bassells' safe house.”

Jado whistled. If this guy was telling the truth, they had hit the jackpot. But immunity wasn't theirs to trade; the police would have to do that. He looked at his father, who was the ranking officer at the stadium.

Marte leaned against the wall and appeared to think for a moment before he spoke. “Here's what I'll offer you. You give us the location of the safe house, and any other information you have about the Bassells that our Jedi friends want, and then we hold you here while the Jedi check it out. If they can confirm it, then we'll let you go without criminal charges, but you'll still be ejected from the stadium for the day without refund. If you give us false information, though, them I'm hitting you with an felony obstruction of justice charge in addition to trespassing. Is that an acceptable deal?”

The detainee did not hesitate. “Deal. I need a piece of flimsi, something to write with, and free hands so I can draw a map.”

Jado grabbed a piece of flimsi and a pen from the shelf behind him, and Marte moved behind the detainee. “I'm not leaving your hands completely free. They're going to be re-cuffed in the front, but you should be able to write like that.” He unlocked one cuff, guided the prisoner's hands around to the front, and relocked the cuffs.

The prisoner pulled the flimsi and pen toward him and began drawing a map of the factory district adjacent to the stadium. As he labeled a street, Jado was stunned. Could the Bassells really have been hiding that close to the stadium? Indeed they had, as the prisoner marked an X on an abandoned high-rise building that had been unoccupied for two years.

“This is where they are, in this building,” he said. “The first three floors are booby-trapped, to keep people like you out, but I suspect you won't have a problem with that. They're really basic and obvious traps, more of a visual deterrent than anything else. The top two floors, four and five, are where they reside. The fourth floor typically houses lackeys like me, while the Bassell brothers themselves hold court and live on the fifth floor. Give me a minute and I'll draw a map of each floor on the other side here.”

He continued drawing floor plans of the interior, and as he did so, Palla asked him additional questions. He denied any knowledge of specific plans or of whether other members of the organization were present in the building, and Jado detected no untruth in those denials. After a few minutes, he finished and pushed the flimsi across the table to Zay.

The three Jedi huddled together and studied the map and floor plan. The detainee had put quite a bit of detail in it, and Jado, having grown up nearby, confirmed that the layout of streets and buildings, at least, was correct. Whether the Bassells really were there would require investigating in person, though.

---

Location: Factory district, approximately eight blocks from Euceron Stadium, Eusebus, Euceron
Time: Thirty minutes later

Jado looked out the seventh-floor window of the building across the street from the suspected safe house. He saw movement inside the abandoned building, but couldn't make out details. Then, suddenly, Rosty Bassell himself looked out the fifth-floor window toward the stadium. “Gotcha!” Jado said, backing away from the window so as to not be seen.

“Got who?” Palla asked from the back of the room, where she was discussing the situation with Marte via comlink.

“Rosty himself.”

“Good.” She relayed the confirmation to Marte, and hung up. “Your dad says that he considers this a Jedi matter, but he can send reinforcements if we need them. So how do we want to go at this? We have ten Jedi on the planet, including the Grand Master.”

Zay studied the safe house. “I think we just go in now, just the three of us. Use the element of surprise. I don't think there's more than six people in there at the moment anyway.”

“Zay, you know what happened the last time we fought Rosty.”

“Yes, and we have more experience now, and we have a third Jedi, and he doesn't have a massive army with him for reinforcement. Plus we have the mental advantage of being prepared for a fight, when he probably doesn't expect one.”

Jado spoke up. “I agree, the element of surprise is our best friend here. The more people you have, the more you risk losing that.”

Palla took a deep breath and surrendered. “Okay, then, but how do we get in?”

Jado walked back over to the window. “I think if we can get into that office building next door, we can jump across and break through that window on the fourth floor. Bypasses the booby traps.”

Jado felt a pat on the back and turned to see Zay smiling. “Good thinking, Padawan.”

“Then let's go,” said Palla.

The three crossed the street a block away so as not to be seen, then came up through alleys. Zay found an unlocked window on the second floor of their building, and Jado followed Palla and Zay into leaping up and through. Inside, they went up to the top floor, which was the fourth.

“Ready?” asked Zay. “Once we open the window, we have to move fast.”

Jado drew his lightsaber, but did not activate it yet as he mentally prepared himself for a fight. He nodded, and so did Palla.

“Three, two, one, now!” Zay said. He flung the window open and leaped across the eight-meter gap, breaking the window on the safe house with his boots. Jado was hot on his heels, rolling once on the floor and popping up with his lightsaber activated. Quickly, he assessed the situation. Four people were on the other side of the room with blaster rifles within reach. The three Jedi charged at them, cutting them off from the stairs as they shouldered their rifles and opened fire. Jado stood back and let Palla and Zay take them down as he watched the stairs. A moment later, all four of the shooters were dead.

Palla whispered to Jado. “Stay behind us as we go up. Let Zay and I take the lead.” Jado nodded in response and followed them upstairs. There they found just one person: Rosty Bassell himself.

Rosty made no move to attack, but simply smiled. “Greetings, friends. Welcome to my headquarters.”

Zay was already on the comlink, calling for reinforcements, both Jedi and police. Palla ignored Rosty's proclamation. “Rosty Bassell, you are under arrest.”

“Simple-minded fools,” Rosty replied. “Why don't you sit back and let me tell you the rest of what I was going to tell you two years ago at your precious little Temple.”

Palla looked at Jado and Zay, and both of them shrugged their shoulders. They had nothing better to do while waiting on backup.

Rosty, for his part, didn't wait for any kind of reply. Instead he just plunged into a monologue. “I told you that I hate Euceron. I was born here, but it was a bad place. My parents were gunned down by gangs in broad daylight when I was seven. Children's services was so kriffed up that they never took care of us, so Rondy and I fended for ourselves for a year. Yeah, I know you're going to say that the planet's not like that anymore, but too late for us. Then I told you that I hate the Jedi. One of your own found us. Took us in. Said he'd find us a family. Then he dumped us on some backwards dirtball of a planet, where we were stranded for the next five years.

“Then here's where you so rudely interrupted me. I hate the Euceron Storm. You know who owned Euceron Stadium back in the early part of the century? My grandparents. When those bastard Tunrans came calling, looking to buy, my grandparents didn't want to sell. But somehow those kriffing Tunrans conned him out of the stadium so they could use it for their stupid little limmie team. To this day, they still have no business occupying that stadium. That stadium is mine! I've been trying to get them to vacate the property for five years.

“I ordered an attack of the Galactic Games in 273 at the stadium. When you put an end to that, I personally tried to run you off the case so my brother could attack the parade before the Final, but you managed to stop him anyway. So I tried to scare you off the case again on Tavell. Of course that only made you more determined. I thought a show of force would scare them away, so I attacked the team the following year. You stupid little bastards fell for the little trick and my men had a field day in that parking lot!”

Jado bit his tongue, trying not to say anything at the way he glorified the deaths of Storm players. He could tell that Palla and Zay, who were more intimately connected to that incident, were doing the same.

Rosty continued. “That didn't work, and foolishly they still trusted you Jedi.” He spat out the word “Jedi” as if it were a curse. “My response was to show them how inept the Jedi Order is, by making a mockery of them in their own Temple. They didn't budge in their trust, so I thought maybe I could take advantage of that, as stupid as it was. That's why I summoned you to Kashyyyk for a meeting of the minds, thinking I could have an open discussion and get you to talk the Storm into giving up the stadium. Of course, that was my biggest mistake. Turns out I was the fool there. But I arranged for a rescue after the trial, and after that, I came to a conclusion that nothing was going to force the Storm out of the stadium. So if I can't have the stadium that's rightfully mine, then I decided that nobody should have it.”

Jado was suddenly on high alert. What was he talking about?

Rosty continued his speech, his voice rising slowly. “I knew you would expect an attack on the Final. So I deliberately misled you into thinking that. That attack three weeks ago was never meant to injure or kill anyone on the team. The whole point was to get Jaler Wolfsyn into your hands and leak information about the plans for the Final. You idiots, fools that you are, turned all of your focus to defending that air attack and never noticed what my accomplices in security were slipping into the stadium!” Rosty gestured over the Jedi's heads, and Jado turned his head to see the cover fall off a clock on the wall. The clock showed two minutes, twelve seconds—and was counting down. Rosty was practically screaming now. “There are two dozen bombs in the place! All connected to the master bomb in the main power room. In two minutes, the whole stadium will be blown sky-high!”

Jado's jaw dropped. He had known Rosty could do evil things, but to blow up a stadium filled to capacity? Was he insane? Jado realized that he indeed was insane.

He turned to Palla, but she was a blur, launching herself through the window and toward the stadium. Zay tried to call Marte, but got only static, and Jado realized that communications were jammed. He had to hope that Palla would be able to save the day.

IC: Palla Quelkin
Location: Approaching Euceron Stadium, Eusebus, Euceron
Time remaining: 0:01:03.4

Palla sprinted through the streets, calling on the Force for a boost of speed. She cursed her prosthetic leg as it slowed her down, limited how fast she could run. She had to get there fast.

Pumping her legs, she saw the stadium ahead. She reached out to the Force, and it responded, increasing her speed a tiny bit more. She came to the gate and somersaulted over it, ignoring the security guard who yelled at her to stop. She didn't have time to explain what was going on.

IC: Anddux Koono
Location: Section 132, Row 8, Seat 17
Time remaining: 0:00:19.4

Anddux clapped his hands to the beat of the music as a jizz band performed on the field. He was having the time of his life.

IC: Palla Quelkin
Time remaining: 0:00:14.3

Palla sprinted down the concourse and through a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only”. She was getting close to the main power room.

IC: Alanna Bendix
Location: Nacho stand, upper concourse, north wing
Time remaining: 0:00:11.7

Alanna fought with the cheese machine as it refused to work. Force, she hated this job. She wished she could quit right now.

IC: Palla Quelkin
Time remaining: 0:00:09.1

Palla spotted a security guard at the end of the long hallway at the same time he spotted her. The guard drew his blaster and opened fire. Palla ignited her lightsaber and deflected the bolts into the walls as she ran, too out of breath to explain herself. She expected the guard to cease fire upon seeing the lightsaber... but he didn't.

IC: Denra Kry'ag
Location: North Fan Zone
Time remaining: 0:00:6.9

Denra leaned in close to Asyel Yan'ii and held her datapad out at arm's length, grinning from ear to ear as she took the selfie. She intended to frame it and hang it on her bedroom wall, so all her friends would be jealous when they came over to play. Meanwhile, her mother just put her head in her hand and muttered, “Kids these days.”

IC: Palla Quelkin
Time remaining: 0:00:04.2

Palla continued to deflect fire as the guard ran toward her and yelled again to stop. The main power room was between them, and Palla would get there first.

IC: Darg Kimer
Location: Section 213, Row 2, Seat 21
Time remaining: 0:00:2.1

Darg rose from his seat and gave a standing ovation as the jizz band finished its piece. As he did, he trembled with excitement, because his favorite boy band would be taking the stage next.

IC: Palla Quelkin
Time remaining: 0:00:00.7

Palla reached the doorway of the power room and saw the bomb immediately. Relieved of the need to deflect fire for the moment, she threw her lightsaber at the bomb. It sliced through several wires, and she felt a change in the Force. As the lightsaber came back to her hand, she deactivated it and flipped the lid on the bomb open to find a clock sitting there. It was stopped at 0:00:00.2. Of course, she thought, because the holodramas would always have it at one-tenth.

The she remembered the loose end as the security guard came barreling into the room. She didn't give him a chance to say anything or shoot. “I am a Jedi and this is a bomb that I just defused. We need to evacuate the stadium.”

“No, you bantha-brain, you need to die,” the guard snarled back.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he said as he backed into the hallway, Palla following. He pulled out his comlink as he talked. “Rosty's plan will succeed.”

Palla noticed that his name tag read “RYMEL GUNKIN” as she heard a beep from behind her, and remembered Marte's comments about slicer suspects. “You! You're one of them! Surrender now!”

“Never,” he responded. Raising the comlink to his mouth, he said, “One-seventy-two, thirty.”

Another beep. Palla yelled at the guard, “What did you...” Her voice trailed off as she was yanked into the wall, and she realized the answer to the question: Gunkin had ordered the gravity generator behind her activated.

She heard another beep. Then a couple seconds later, another beep. She realized that the beeping was coming from the bomb, and was growing in frequency. She tried to go after the accomplice as he ran down the hallway, but she was stuck to the wall. The beeping accelerated as gray began to creep in on the edges of her vision. She tried to call on the Force to get off the wall, but she was too exhausted from the run to the stadium.

As the bomb emitted a constant beep-beep-beep-beep, Palla's last thought before she blacked out was, Damn you, Rosty, damn you.

IC: Jado Nalo
Location: Bassell safe house
Time remaining: 0:00:04.8

Jado watched the stadium through the window, keeping one eye on the clock above it. The clock counted down to four... three... two... one... and stopped at two-tenths of a second. Jado released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Zay had already turned to Rosty. “Looks like your little plan has failed.”

Rosty slowly cackled, dragging it out over several seconds. Jado wondered what he had up his sleeve now.

“You pathetic fools,” Rosty said. He let that hang in the air for a few seconds before continuing. “You see, you idiots foolishly believed what I told you about those bombs. What I told you was the truth, but not the whole truth.”

Jado and Zay looked at each other. Now what?

“Each of the bombs is connected to the main unit, yes,” Rosty said, “but every bomb has redundant systems in it. The only way to disable the entire network is to kill all twenty-four in a thirty-second window. If one is disabled by itself, the redundant systems will set off the whole network!”

Horrified, Jado rushed to the window, with Zay right beside him. Euceron Stadium sat there peacefully in the distance... and then suddenly it did not as the entire stadium exploded.

IC: Zay Antilles

Zay watched with wide eyes as the stadium sat there, fearing what was about to happen.

Fear is the path to the dark side.

As the stadium exploded, Zay immediately realized that he had lost his favorite limmie team, and became angry at Rosty for what he had done.

Fear leads to anger.

Zay ignored the voice in his head. He reached out to Palla... and felt her living Force wink out of existence. She was dead, and Zay hated Rosty for killing the person who had been like a mother to him.

Anger leads to hate.

Zay hated Rosty so much that he decided to carry out the death penalty that the courts had assessed against the bastard himself.

And in that moment, Jedi Knight Zay Antilles fell to the dark side.

IC: Jado Nalo

Jado stood there, watching the stadium explode. For a moment, he was unaware of what was going on around him. His first thought, curiously, was whether Rosty would face a new trial for this act, or if the Euceron authorities would simply carry out the existing death penalty sentence against him. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people had likely just been killed was not on his mind. As he mused that they would probably just execute Rosty as quickly as possible, the Force told him to duck, and he obliged. A second later, the shock wave from the blast blew the window inward. As he stood back up, he began to become aware of a humming sound behind him.

Turning, he saw his Master, Zay Antilles, lightsaber ignited and held over his head, standing over Rosty menacingly. And in that moment, Jado snapped back to the present. The young Padawan leaped across the room, igniting his lightsaber and blocking what would have been a killing blow as his Master brought his lightsaber down.

“Master!” Jado said. “He is an unarmed prisoner!”

Zay was having none of it. “You!” he screamed. “You're one of them!”

Jado did not know who this man was that was yelling at him; all he knew was that this was not the Master he knew. “What are you talking about?”

Zay stomped toward Jado. “Only an ally of Rosty Bassell would defend him!” Suddenly, Zay slashed at Jado, and the Padawan barely blocked the blow. Zay launched attack after attack, and Jado was quickly pushed back. As he dodged another blow, Jado locked eyes with his Master... and saw that he no longer had his baby blue eyes. Zay's eyes were now a sickly yellow.

Jado realized that Zay had fallen to the dark side. He was not surprised; his attachment to limmie had been plain as day to Jado, and now that had been taken from him. As Jado was pushed around the room, he sunk himself into Soresu, maintaining an impenetrable defense, but still unable to stand his ground.

“Good!” Rosty said. “Release your anger!”

Jado knew that Rosty had accomplished what he had been trying to do since the Temple attack: turn Zay to the dark side. And Jado realized that he was to be the sacrifice.

The Padawan decided that his strategy was getting him nowhere. As he blocked another blow over his head, he changed things up. He reached into the Force and blasted his Master. Zay stumbled backward for a moment, and Jado took the opening to go on the offensive, mixing in some Djem So.

Surprisingly, Jado was able to turn the tables, though not completely; Zay was no longer in full control, and while Jado could not push him around at will, he at least was able to gain some control. But he still could not break through Zay's defense—and he realized that if he could break through the defense, what would he do? He did not want to kill Zay, only end the fight.

The opening came about twenty seconds later. Zay, fueled by a dark side rage, was getting sloppy, and for a moment he left his left side open. Jado slashed at Zay's arm and cut it off at the elbow before stepping back, expecting the fight to be over.

But he underestimated Zay's rage. Having let his guard down for a moment, he was unprepared when Zay blasted him with a Force push that sent him flying into the wall behind him. When his vision cleared, he saw that they were right back where they started: with Zay, lightsaber held aloft in his remaining arm, trying to kill Rosty. Jado sprinted across the room, attempting to stop him. He realized that he couldn't get in front of Zay this time, like he had the first time.

Zay's blade came down. Jado swung his blade. And it was over.

Jado stopped in his tracks and tried to catch his breath. He looked down at Zay, who was laying at his feet. His eyes followed Zay's legs, up to his hips, as he wondered what he had just done. His eyes continued to track Zay's body to the left, up to his chest, then his neck and—wait a minute.

Something bumped into his right ankle. Jado was afraid to look down, but forced himself to do so. When he did, the image that he saw would be burned in the back of his eyes forever: Zay's face, contorted into a look of pure hatred, yellow eyes filled with rage, staring right back at Jado.

Almost immediately, Jado realized what he had done.

His first kill was his own Master.

Behind him, he heard footsteps as the backup they had called for earlier finally arrived. But for Zay, and for Jado, it was too late. The young Padawan collapsed to his knees and began crying.

IC: Zay Antilles

Zay brought his blade down for the killing blow that would bring him so much satisfaction... but it didn't land. Instead, he felt himself falling, then rolling across the floor. As he rolled, he caught a glimpse of his body lying on the floor, and realized that he had been beheaded.

It was commonly believed that a person, once decapitated, retained consciousness for a few moments. Of course, scientists could not test that theory, but Zay was now finding out that it was true. His head bumped against something, and he looked up into his Padawan's face. He hated Jado for defending Rosty, and now he hated Jado for killing him.

As his consciousness began to fade out, though, he finally remembered the last part of that Jedi maxim:

Hate leads to suffering.

He realized had suffered the ultimate penalty.

And with that, Zay Antilles was dead.

---

IC: Jado Nalo
Location: Remains of Euceron Stadium
Time: Midnight

Jado mentally argued with himself as he helped dig through the rubble. Each time he thought he'd come to terms with what he'd done, a new wave of guilt crashed over him. The back-and-forth wave of emotions was going to drive him insane eventually; the only thing keeping him sane at the moment was finding people alive here and there in the pile of rubble that Euceron Stadium had become. He probed an area of the northern section of the stadium, and detected three faint beacons in the living Force, one of them mildly familiar.

Calling for other rescue workers to assist, Jado scrambled over the rubble to where he had felt the survivors. He tossed debris inside, and caught a glimpse of movement under a large beam as he did so. A furry paw reached out toward him; Bothan, by the looks of it. Using the Force, Jado lifted the beam out of the way, careful to set it down on bare ground on the nearby street so as not to crush potential survivors in another part of the stadium. Looking back down, he found himself looking into the eyes of Asyel Yan'ii, whose brown fur had streaks of red. He quickly determined that Asyel was losing blood fast, so he called a medic over to begin first aid.

Jado, meanwhile, was looking for the other two survivors. He found them a couple meters away, and saw that the debris he needed to move was pinned down by other, larger pieces of rubble. He ignited his lightsaber and cut through the small beam with ease, lifting the cut portion up as he did so to ensure it would not fall on the victims. Tossing that piece aside, he saw two more Bothans, a female adult and a female child appearing to be about ten to twelve years old. The younger one was clutching a datapad and was visibly scared. Of course, what kid wouldn't be? Jado thought. “Hi, I'm Jado,” he said. “We're going to get you out of there in a minute. What's your name?” He was hoping to ease the child's fear a little with introductions.

“Denra,” the young girl said in a shaky voice.

Two rescue workers came over and began assessing the best way to lift them out without causing further injury. Jado continued his small talk. “I see you held on to your datapad. What kind of things do you have on it?”

“Um, games and, like, photos.”

The adult Bothan rolled her eyes. “I hardly think your collection of selfies can qualify as 'photos', Denra.”

“Mom!”

Jado allowed himself to chuckle a bit. “But they're fun to take, right?”

“Yep!” Denra said, her voice no longer penetrated by fear.

“Kids these days,” her mother muttered.

“Alright, these two fine folks here are going to assess you and get you out of here and get you medical treatment.”

Jado moved on to other portions of the stadium, finding a few survivors here and there but mostly dead bodies. Over in the east wing, though, he detected a familiar living Force and rushed over to dig him out. Moving two beams, then lifting another out of the way with the Force, he found a face he had known since birth looking back up at him. “Dad! Hang on, I'm going to get you out of here!”

Marte coughed up some blood before replying weakly. “It's too late for me, son.”

“No it's not! What kind of talk is that?!”

Marte slowly lifted his left hand up, and Jado grasped it. “You did what you could, son. Nobody saw this coming. I doubt there was anything you could do to stop it.”

Jado squeezed his father's hand in frustration. “Forget the bombing, Dad! We need to save you!”

“I told you, it's... too late,” Marte replied, now struggling to speak. “You've... made me... proud... son. You will... make... a fine... Jed...i.”

“No, Dad! Stay with me!”

But it was too late. The body of Marte Nalo went limp, and Jado felt his living Force wink out of existence. For the second time that day, Jado cried.

---

Location: Incident Command Center
Time: Two hours later

Jado was sitting at a table eating a protein bar when Grand Master Kash Skywalker walked in and collapsed into a chair with a sigh. “What's wrong?” Jado asked.

“Rosty Bassell,” Kash simply said.

Jado dropped the protein bar and rested his forearms on his palms, elbows on the table. “Don't tell me he escaped again.”

“He did. Not even I could stop him.”

“How big was the army this time?”

“Army? Bassell pulled this off on his own. He just blasted us with a Force wave when we weren't expecting it and took off.”

Jado's jaw dropped. Rosty had beaten the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, five other Jedi, and fifty police officers just like that? How powerful was this guy?

Kash seemed to read his mind. “I fear that Bassell is far more powerful than any of us thought. And I fear that the only way to stop him will be to find his home base and level it, with him inside.”

Jado opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when his comlink buzzed. The readout on the side said it was Zay, but Zay was dead. Who had Zay's comlink? Jado pressed the button to answer. “Hello?”

The person on the other end simply laughed—and Jado recognized the laugh immediately. “Rosty Bassell. You will not get away with this!”

“Oh, yes I will,” the terrorist said. “It was a shame that you killed your own Master. He would have made a fine Sith apprentice. But my plans can change. I, Rosty Bassell, will turn you to the dark side. I know you will come after me for revenge. I will break you one piece at a time. You will not be able to resist, and in time, you will call me Master.”

Jado, angered by Rosty's taunt about killing Zay, squeezed his comlink hard, but immediately recognized that was wrong. He stood up straight, took a deep breath, and banished all thoughts of the dark side from his body. Then he responded firmly, but without a trace of anger.

“No. You are wrong. I will not turn to the dark side. I will not come for revenge. Jedi do not seek revenge. We seek justice. And I, Jado Nalo, personally promise you that I will hunt you down and bring you to the justice that you deserve.”

Before Rosty could respond, Jado cut the connection. The past was in the past; that could not be changed. His focus was on the present task: finding Rosty Bassell and bringing him to justice. And Jado would not stop until he achieved that goal.

TAG: Nobody in particular, but I suspect most of you will want to comment on this in some form. Also, I'd like to specifically thank Jedi Gunny for giving me this idea early last year.

 

IC: Cruth Kantor
Coruscant Athletic Club

Security was tight at tonight’s Helmsman ceremony. The events of the past few months, and further back, had not been forgotten; the shooting of Martin Vigo having happened almost a year ago to the day, seemingly, and then the stuff from this year. It made Cruth nervous, and the Zabrak was not one to normally be anxious about anything. He was a smooth operator, but when his life could be in danger, he had a hint of despair. He hated the thought of death, and hoped that the security staff would keep him safe from any idiots wanting to attack him.

He got up to the stage. “Hello, and welcome to the annual Helmsman Memorial Trophy presentation. I want to thank all of you for being here for another wonderful night. I shall start with the other Awards, and then finish with the presentation of the Helmsman.”

He went through the other awards, and finally it was to the last, and most prestigious, award. “And now, to present the Helmsman Trophy. This is the Holy Grail for the college ranks, the ultimate prize. And tonight another player will join the ranks of the best college players to ever grace this galaxy.

The first finalist is Loryyk Fey'limm, half forward from the University of Tatooine at Anchorhead.” The female Bothan got plenty of applause; most of Anchorhead’s best players were on the defensive side of the ball, so to get a nomination like this meant a lot for the program. Former star full back Deluxx was now in the Elite League, so his former teammate looked to join him, potentially as a Helmsman winner.

“The second nominee is Jack "The Executioner" Kettch, half forward from the University of Agamar,” Cruth said. It seemed odd that an Ewok would be able to play Limmie, let alone star on a college team. But it was an odd galaxy, and the Ewok had the moniker for a reason, it appeared.

“Our third nominee is . . . Guido "Guy" Forkes, full forward from the University of Agamar,” the Zabrak said. The University of Agamar, no matter what anyone said, had put their planet on the map. Add in the Packers going to the playoffs the past two seasons, and Agamar was no longer a dirt track. The Academicals had put together a sensational team this past season, winning yet another Conference title with an explosive offense that was ranked second in the Galaxy at the Division I level. The big issue Cruth saw here was two teammates, and on the same side of the ball. They would likely knock each other out of the running, even if they had a clear majority of favor with the voters otherwise. It’s why he didn’t like seeing two players from the same school; it usually never ended well for them. But he hoped he was wrong; Agamar had put together a monster program, and it was paying off despite their early exit from the playoffs.

“And our last nominee is Tuvaash Mauntak, corner back from Druckenwell Technical University,” Cruth announced. The lizard-like Trandoshan got plenty of applause.

“Now, to find out our winner,” Cruth said. He slit open the envelope, and then said his famous words.

“The 279 Helmsman Memorial Trophy goes to . . .”

Spoiler

Tuvaash Mauntak, Druckenwell Technical University.”

Once again, a defender from DTU got the honor to be nominated here, and to win it was another win for a power program there that had once produced former first overall pick Ken Zetter, now a two-time Galactic Cup champion with Nar Shaddaa. The Trandoshan went up to accept the Award, a rare defensive winner for the award. Cruth guessed that the Agamar forwards had knocked each other out of the win here, but the corner back had certainly earned the Award.

“Thank you, and good night,” Cruth said to end the night.

Your Other Award Winners:

Ruy Gey Award for Best Goalkeeper:
Frax Oayan (Human, Female, Goalkeeper, University of Euceron)

Grazo Award for Best Corner or Full Back:
Thuwacca (Wookiee, Male, Fullback, University of Kashyyyk)

Outlandi Award for Best Interior Defender:
Noah Till (Human, Male, Center Half Back, University of Ralltiir)

Batkis Award for Best Midfielder:
Longjon Sylver (O'reenian, Male, Midfielder, University of Ord Mantell)

Bulitnekoff Award for Best Corner or Full Forward:
Lexi Seevers (Human, Female, Corner Forward, Theed University)

Lombardee Award for Best Interior Forward:
Kal'cre'ltenk (Chiss, Male, Half Forward, Sarvchi Technological University)

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

 

GM Post

HSN Headlines

• Death and injury tolls uncertain in wake of Euceron Stadium explosion
• No details as of yet from authorities
• Elite League Commissioner Lokensgaard distraught at emergency press conference
• 
• Lokensgaard: "This is a tragedy beyond comprehension"
• Free agency begins
• Eponette Ternardiel signs contract with Carratos Pirates: "I couldn't be happier It's where I wanted to go. I expect to achieve great things here. Thanks to Bakura for all the memories--see you on the pitch"
• Pirates organization releases statement saying that Ternardiel will bring "much needed experience" to sophomore squad
• Leann Lightcin heads to Ralltiir on new contract
• Tria Tyvold joins Senators organization on new contract
• Gwynn Reeser returns to Starkillers as an assistant coach
• Sunlua Zan confirms reports she will be head coach Tatooine Sandskimmers
• Elite League has not yet confirmed location of 279 Draft nor replacement for Kuat in league
• Insiders say there is "no chance" of an 11 team League in 279: "A promotion is coming"

TAG: galactic-vagabond422 jcgoble3 Jedi Gunny Runjedirun

 

Ye Olde Mock Draft: Now with 20% more tights!​

Carratos Pirates - Tuvaash Mauntak (Trandoshan, Male, Corner Back, Druckenwell Technical University)

Taking the Helmsman winner would be a smart move for a team looking to improve its defense. Adding Mauntak and Ternardiel to the Pirates defense should make a marked improvement. Add in the fact that the Pirates have desperately needed a corner back since the middle of last season, and this move makes perfect sense.

Bakura Miners [from Ylesia Lightning] - Kettin Hervey (Korun, Male, Half Back, Citadel University of Anaxes)

Losing Eponette Ternardiel hurts the Miners defense. So finding her replacement should be first priority. Hervey was a beast for CUA this season, and should continue his strong play with the Miners at the Left Half.

Mando'ade Mercs [from Ralltiir Starkillers] - Sarah "Terminator" Connor (Human, Female, Goalkeeper, Taanab A&M)

Let’s just say that we have a hunch on this one. The Mercs might need a goalie, and Oayen isn’t all he’s cracked up to be, we don’t think. So this is a smart move for a team in need of an under-the-radar pick.

Mando'ade Mercs - Guido "Guy" Forkes (Rodian, Male, Full Forward, University of Agamar)

Don’t let the “Full Forward” bit bother you. Forkes was a Helmsman nominee, and can immediately help the Mercs offense at whatever position they find for him. Whether that’s in place of “Johnny Limmie” or somewhere else, that’s up to them. But passing on Forkes would be a mistake.

Agamar Packers - Mikia Sandin (Human, Female, Left Half Back, Bilbringi University)

The Packers still need a boost on defense, and Sandin had a solid year. It all fits here.

Coruscant Senators - Karin Cherf (Human, Female, Half Back, Atalanta University)

The Senators have drafted only humans in the first round since the implementation of the Draft. That trend won’t change this year, because they need defense, and Cherf is a great player who starred on a good Titans team. Should be a nice project pick, either for this year or for a few years down the road.

Euceron Storm - Longjon Sylver (O'reenian, Male, Midfielder, University of Ord Mantell)

Sylver was the best midfielder in the galaxy for a reason, and would be a good value pick for a team in need of a good story after a terrible beginning to the offseason.

Ylesia Lightning [from Bakura Miners] - Loryyk Fey'limm (Bothan, Female, Half Forward, University of Tatooine, Anchorhead)

Fey’limm was a Helmsman nominee. The Lightning need a forward. Need we say more?

Euceron Storm [from Rydonni Prime Monarchs] - Instot Arien (Twi'lek, Female, Full Back, University of Aargau)

The Storm could use a few extra bodies on defense, and Arien can contribute now or in the future. Sort of a project pick, but could be something special.

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers - Vera Langdon (Human, Female, Full Forward, Vertical City University)

The champs don’t need anything in the Draft, but they might as well take the local girl. Good publicity never hurts, because she won’t be playing anytime soon. However, if the Smugglers ever get bit by the injury bug (we wonder why they never have before, but whatever), Langdon should be able to step in and provide.


Second Round:


Carratos Pirates - John Masters (Human, Male, Midfielder, Brentaal College of Commerce)

Ylesia Lightning - Thuwacca (Wookiee, Male, Fullback, University of Kashyyyk)

Ralltiir Starkillers - Nikkola Gotsburg (Zabrak, Female, Corner Forward, University of Ralltiir)

Mando'ade Mercs - Annabelle Shaw (Human, Female, Midfielder, Universtiy of Tatooine)

Agamar Packers - Lexi Seevers (Human, Female, Corner Forward, Theed University)

Coruscant Senators - Frax Oayan (Human, Female, Goalkeeper, University of Euceron)

Euceron Storm - Noah Till (Human, Male, Center Half Back, University of Ralltiir)

Ylesia Lightning [from Bakura Miners] - Gravil (Rodian, Female, Midfielder, The Ord Sabaok University)

Euceron Storm [from Rydonni Prime Monarchs] - Ben Dayharvest (Human, Male, Half Back, Auril University)

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers - Anna Konder (Human, Female, Full Back, University of Agamar)


Third Round:

Carratos Pirates - Gorgalan "Gor" Irukandji (Nikto, Male, Center Half Forward, Norand University (Carratos)

Ylesia Lightning - Mark Meeks (Human, Male, Cornerback, The Ord Sabaok University)

Mando'ade Mercs [from Ralltiir Starkillers] - Penkal (Aqualish, Male, Full Back, College of Fondordelphia)

Mando'ade Mercs - Wilhelm Gates (Human, Male, Half Forward, Verpine Tech)

Agamar Packers - Sir Sake Meconfe (Cathar, Male, Midfielder, Kastolar Sector University)

Coruscant Senators - Kal'cre'ltenk (Chiss, Male, Half Forward, Sarvchi Technological University)

Euceron Storm - Jack "The Executioner" Kettch (Ewok, Male, Half-forward, University of Agamar)

Bakura Miners – Yeorg Niktel (Human, Male, Half Forward, Bakura Fleet Academy)

Euceron Storm [from Rydonni Prime Monarchs] – Off-the-board pick

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – Off-the-board pick


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

 

Cambrielle, Ralltiir

IC: Bat Vigo

I entered my childhood home carrying my daughter in one arm and two bags over my other shoulder. Spencer sat on the sofa in the front room, he looked up from his data pad just long enough to say, “Hello.”

“Hello yourself,” I called back. “Why don’t you come help me with these bags?”

Reluctantly he set down his data pad and began walking in my direction. “Where’s Georgia? How come she’s not carrying anything?”

“Right behind me,” I answered opening the door further. “Didn’t Lucie tell you? She’s expecting another baby. Can’t be too careful. How long have you been home?”

Spencer shook his head. “Lucie’s been really busy setting up the retirement party for Loren Jul. I haven’t seen her much. She’ll be here for dinner tonight though and after we eat she wants to meet with you, me, Tomas and Richard about some presentation thing.”

“You’re home from re-hab for good then?” I asked rephrasing the question.

“Oh, yea. I got home 10 days ago. Went back to school last week. Working on homework right now. I had to drop a couple of classes, but I’m pretty much caught up.” Spencer took the bags off my shoulder. “You want me to carry these upstairs for you?” He asked.

“Please.”

“Richard said things would get interesting when you got home,” Spencer said over his shoulder as he started up the staircase. “What did he mean by that?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” I answered.

I followed Spencer upstairs. My old bedroom had been converted into a nursery for T.J. and Marty. Justyne’s old bedroom had been converted into a bedroom for Zoey and Richard’s old bedroom was now the guestroom where Georgia, Serene and I stayed when we visited. The door to Lucie’s old room remained closed. I wondered if anyone has entered that room since Lucie ran off over 8 years ago.

IC: Ty Allin

Lucie and I had barely seen each other in the past two weeks. I had been spending several hours a day with a certified trainer the Starkillers provided to help me begin workouts at an appropriate speed after suffering an injury of the magnitude I had. While Lucie had been spending the majority of her time making arrangements for Loren Jul’s retirement party. This evening was the first we would spend together all week and we had to go to her mother’s house for dinner.

Fortunately we arrived a little early. T.J. ran into the house and into Georgia’s arms. “Auntie G” he said hugging her leg. T.J. joined Serene on the living room floor. Mrs. Vigo was also in the living room supervising so I grabbed Lucie by the arm and led her up the stairs.

“Where are we going?” She asked when we reached the top.

“You’ll see,” I replied pulling her down the hall. We reached the door to her childhood bedroom. I only knew the room had been hers because Tomas had told me. He also told me he had never been inside. At least not that he remembered. Lucie had left home when Tomas was only 3. He believed his parents had left the room untouched since she had made her departure. I attempted to turn the knob but it was locked. I pulled a pin out of Lucie’s hair, placed it in the hole of the doorknob and twisted until I heard a click. “Wait,” Lucie cautioned. “We can’t go in there.”

“Why not?” I asked. She shrugged. “Well it is your room, you should be allowed in,” I said as I threw open the door and pushed her inside. I followed her in and for a moment I was speechless. I found myself surrounded by purple walls. Dance shoes hung on hooks by the closet. Several trophies sat on the dresser and a poster of a long forgotten teenaged boy sensation was hung over the bed. As soon as I collected myself I closed the door behind us and secured the lock.

“Oh no,” Lucie began. “Not in here, not in my mother’s house, not in my old bedroom. Are you crazy?”

I pulled my shirt over my head, “You’ve known for quite some time, that I’m crazy. You’re my wife and I haven’t made love to you in over a week. If we don’t do this I’m going to from just plain crazy to stark raving mad.” I reached out and pulled her close to me. “Besides didn’t you ever fantasize about bringing a boy up here?”

“No, I didn’t,” she replied in an all too serious tone. “No doubt my father would have killed the poor boy if he had ever found out.”

“I would have taken that chance,” I said boldly as I reached down to untie my shoes.

“I can see I’m not going to talk you out of this so we may as well get it over with.” Lucie put her hands on my chest, she began to push me backwards and then onto the bed.

After we finished, I was lying on the bed with my head propped on my elbow while she was looking through her drawers and rediscovering old memories. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door.

“Couldn’t you wait until you got home tonight to reproduce,” Bat hollered from the other side. “Hurry up and get dressed, it’s time to eat.”

“Be down in a minute,” I called needlessly. I could already hear Bat retreating back down the stairs. Lucie picked my shirt up off the bedroom floor and threw it at me. I sat up and put it on before standing and following her down to dinner. We were the last to arrive and I assumed everyone knew where we had been and what we were doing. “There was no need to wait on us,” I said taking a seat.

Dinner was mostly technical talk between Bat and Spencer. Bat had gotten the ship he purchased space worthy and had even piloted it to Ralltiir. The brothers discussed repulsors, parsecs and other terms I didn’t understand. Spencer went into great detail about the inner workings of the new stadium and asked his brother to come look at it while he was on planet. “Better do that before we have the staff meeting,” Bat advised his brother.

“Why?” Spencer wanted to know. “I thought you would be on planet for at least a week.”

“I may not be allowed to visit after the staff meeting, that’s why.” Bat told his brother. We were all curious what he meant by that, but Bat didn’t elaborate. He quickly changed the subject to the jungle that was growing on Adres Fortune’s face. Luckily for Andres Lucie was in a hurry to get through dinner so she could have a meeting alone with her siblings. The siblings meeting took place in the gym and lasted nearly two hours. T.J. fell asleep in my lap while I waited for them to wrap.

We got home to find my mother in the kitchen eating a pre-made boxed dinner off of a plastic plate. She said she felt out of place at the Vigo’s big expensive home and had opted to stay at our place. Lucie went upstairs to put T.J. in bed and I took a seat next to her at the table. “I secured a job cleaning hotel rooms,” she told me. “And I found an apartment. I’ll be out of your hair by the end of the month.”

“What?” I blurted. “Who told you that you should find a job or another place to live? Things are working out just fine.” It wasn’t entirely true. There was a certain awkwardness to living with your mother after several years of marriage.

“It’s okay honey, I know I’m crowding you here.” My mom responded. “Besides I’ve heard Lucie mention that she wants another baby soon. You’re going to need the extra bedroom.”

“It’s not okay. Do you have any idea what will happen to my reputation when the media finds out that my mother is cleaning hotel rooms and living in a small low-cost apartment?” I rubbed my temples, trying to decide what I should say or do. “Mom, we’ll find a condo for you. In a nice neighborhood. You don’t need to work, we have the money.” Or at least we would in a few more years. Once my contract expired and I was able to secure a better one. We could take out a loan until that happened. Lucie would understand that I had to take care of my own mother.

Thankfully Lucie was too wrapped up in the final stages of planning Loren Jul’s retirement party to argue. She actually believed that Richard was looking for a house and may be vacating our old condo so she told me to contact him and see how much he was going to ask for the place. Lucie probably thought her brother would give us a deal on the place since it was originally ours or perhaps because we were family. Whatever her reasoning had been I soon found out that Richard wanted to fleece me for the place. I could see that I was going to have to wait until the retirement party wrapped and get Lucie involved. I knew she wouldn’t stand for her brother trying to overcharge us.

​

The party was held around the corner from our house in one of the Theater’s Lucie had inherited from her father. There was so much fanfare around the event that I couldn’t walk out my front door that afternoon. The press was lined up around the block and camped out in front of our house. Every celebrity and business owner on Ralltiir had requested an invite, very few had been granted. This party was almost exclusively for friends and family of Loren Jul, Starkillers staff, veterans, and current players. When it was time to leave I brought a blanket to cover T.J.’s face. I carried him in my arms as I exited the back door with my mother in tow and attempted to make a detour through the park. The plan worked as well as it could have. We weren’t spotted until we were across the street from the theater. At that point I was able to alert security and be escorted inside.

The ballroom was set up much like a wedding reception. I made my way to our assigned table and took a seat next to Trey across from Andres. I had barely gotten seated when the first course was served. We ate salad, we ate pasta, we had sorbet and then the main course. Waiters came around with caf, cake, pies and other desserts. I was so full I didn’t think I could possibly walk home. Around me the lights began to dim. Bat and Spencer appeared at our table. “Time to cut a rug,” Bat said motioning us to stand so he and Spencer could move the table.

Leave it to the Vigo’s I thought mindlessly as I retrieved T.J. from his booster and walked to the side of the room and promptly found myself another seat. Once the Vigo brothers moved the tables from the middle of the room they took center stage. Suddenly I was interested. I had seen Justyne and Lucie dance on several occasions. Spencer danced a lot in the confines of his own living room. I had seen never seen him dance outside his home though. Tomas sometimes displayed his skills after making a big play in a Limmie game and I had never seen Richard or Bartholomew dance. Now they were about to perform together. No wonder so many people had wanted to get in to this event.

The Vigo brothers brought the house down. I enjoyed it as much as I could. I looked over at Andres, “You realize they are going to pull us out there next,” I said nodding towards Lucie and Justyne who were giving their brothers cues. They had obviously choreographed the entire production. Before the number was over Mrs. Vigo led a reluctant Trey onto the floor. Now my eyes were pealed. Mrs. Vigo danced circles around Trey. Several other couples followed.

“Come on Mountain man,” Justyne said as she came over to retrieve Andres. Andres handed Marty to my mother. Zoey had already started dancing out on the floor, too young to realize she was without a partner. Lucie grabbed T.J. and took him for a spin first so he wouldn’t feel left out. Once she was finished she came for me.

“You know I can’t dance,” I tried.

“No one will notice,” she argued.

IC: Bat Vigo

I was still feeling the effects of the alcohol when we met the afternoon after Loren Jul’s retirement party. We were in a conference room at Bankers mansion. My mother sat at the head of the table. I was on her right directly across from Richard. Kelly Sen was at my side and next to her was Sunlua Zan. Coach Trey Till sat next to Richard. Gwynn Reeser was next to coach Till. My brother Spencer was next to Gwynn. “What’s Spencer doing here?” I whispered across the table at Richard.

“He’ll be 16 before the end of the season,” Richard reminded me. “About time we included him in family business.”

“Let’s get started,” my mother called over us. “There’s a lot to cover today. Starting with you Bartholomew. You have an announcement.” She prompted.

“I got caught up in winning,” I said getting right to the point. “Kaat played two great games for us on Tatooine and all of the sudden you pulled her away from me.” I accused as I looked directly across the table at Richard. “Knowing how mom feels about the violence in Limmie and fighting in general I instructed Kaat Stun to start a brawl during the game against Nar Shadda. I thought you would send her back. Eventually you did, after she threw games per my instructions. What I’m asking is for you to give Kaat a fair try-out for the starting keeper position in 279. Her inability to concentrate in the LFL cup game was more my fault than her own.”

Head coach Trey Till spoke first, “Ms. Stun should have come forward. She has to be held at least partially responsible if this is true.”

“Oh it’s true,” my mother broke in for me. “This one always puts himself first. How long have you known about this?” She asked turning on Richard.

“Found out at the finals when he confessed. I have a proposal on how we should handle the situation,” Richard continued. “From now on we’ll pay Bat a percentage of his profits based on the level of performance his players give after being promoted to the Starkillers.”

“Just how much are you cutting back on me?” I demanded.

“Fifty percent of your current earnings.” Richard said without hesitation.

I knew I was lucky to be allowed to keep my job so I accepted. “I’m sorry. Nothing like this will happen again. Anyone you bring up next season will give the Starkillers 100%.” I promised.

“That’s good news,” Richard said with a smile. “The first person I’m promoting is your head coach. Gwynn Reeser has agreed to come back as Assistant Head Coach of the Starkillers. Sanula Zan will be assuming the role of head coach of the Sandskimmers.”

I wanted to protest. I wanted to speak up for Kelly Sen who had been overlooked in my opinion as a better option for our head coaching position. I did not know Zan nor did I think it was right for such an important decision to be made behind my back. I knew my brother had kept this move from me to make a point. I decided to let his point be made. “You still haven’t told me if you’d give Kaat an opportunity to play for the Starkillers in ’79,” I pointed out.

“I’ll set up a private one on one with her at the beginning of training camp,” Coach Till stated. “If I feel like I can trust her she can have a fair try out.”

Satisfied with the answer I listened in as my older brother agonized over whether we should try to trade our way back into the first round of the draft. In my opinion it was unlikely any of the players would get us one after the Starkillers failure to make the play-offs last season. Coach Till was adamant that he wanted to keep the team together. He believed that it would be an advantage not to start rookies for once in his coaching career. Young players were a gamble and even the best he argued took a while to adjust to playing at the next level. Gwynn Reeser approved of the decision and Richard finally backed down.

Next Richard made an announcement that he had secured an eight year contract with defensive back Deve Poletin. He also assured coach Till that he was talking to Leann Lightcin’s agent. She should be an easy grab. She had tested the waters in free agency last year and signed with Coruscant. The deal resulted in little actual playing time. This worked in our favor because she would more than likely be forced to sign for less to come back now just to get her status back as a starter. When the meeting finally adjourned I rushed back to my mother’s house and collected my wife, daughter and belongings. I still had my own plans to execute once I got back to Tatooine. I had to make up for the lost income somehow and in order to do that I was going to be putting in a lot of extra hours. Within an hour I was prepping my ship for the journey home.

IC: Ty Allin

Trey invited me to go out to dinner to celebrate with him and his nephew, Noah, after learning that Noah had won the Outlandi Award. Dinner began with a lot of questions from Noah. He wanted any and all advice that Trey and I would offer about how to improve his stock in the draft and then he wanted to know what it would be like if he was lucky enough to be drafted. I advised Noah to lay low and stay out of trouble. Trey gave him pointers on how to impress a head coach when he arrived at training camp. “Don’t just do what you’re told,” he instructed. “Do extra, stay late, volunteer, don’t be afraid to show off a little, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be fearless. If you want to start you’re going to have to stand out. Go all out,” he instructed. “Then when you make the team you continue to do all those things. Even when you play Ralltiir,” he said with a wink.

“So you still don’t think you’ll be drafting me?” Noah inquired.

“Never said we were considering the idea and never said we weren’t.” Trey stated.

Trey and I were arguing over who was going to pay for dinner when he got a call. Noah and I recognized immediately that something was wrong. Trey’s demeanor completely changed, “Yes I understand.” He told the caller. “I appreciate the advance notice. I assure you I had no idea. I’ll meet with her in the morning.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked Trey as soon as the call ended.

“Alyada tested positive for a performance enhancing substance,” he answered. “You’re the team captain. I want you to meet with us in the morning. Come by the stadium at 08:00.” He said as he slipped his cred card to our waiter. I was too surprised by the news to stop him from paying and agreed to be there.

I found myself in a conference room with Trey, Gwynn Reeser, Alyada, Richard and Mrs. Vigo bright and early the next morning. Lucie had told me to wear a suit, but I hadn’t listened. I now felt underdressed in my denim pants and t-shirt. Alyada sat alone at the head of the table. The rest of us spread out on the sides. “I’m going to start by having one of your teammates tell you how it felt to hear that you tested positive for a performance enhancing substance.” Trey said putting me on the spot.

Trey looked towards me, “Well.” I stammered a moment. It wasn’t easy to tell someone who you considered to be a friend that they had betrayed your trust. “Alyada for so many seasons I have admired how quickly you move the ball up and down the field. I was proud to be your teammate. Now I am left wondering if you have been cheating since the first time I saw you take the field. Did you earn that Ingbrand award? How fast will you be able to dribble the ball when you come back from this suspension? Are you going to lose those seemingly super powers now that you’ve been caught?” I stopped myself realizing that my voice was raising.

“It’s okay Allin,” Trey assured me. “Every one of your teammates is asking similar questions this morning. Citizens of Ralltiir are asking them as well. People all over the Galaxy want to know if you are the super star athlete they believed in or if you are nothing more than a fraud.”

Tears began to fall down Alyada’s face. “I’m not a fraud,” she said. “I’ll prove to you and I’ll prove to everyone that I don’t need any help from drugs to run faster than anyone else on the pitch. We had a bad season, I was just experimenting. I didn’t realize they would test me during the off-season. I planned to have all the drugs long out of my system by the time training camp started. I just wanted to see how much faster they would make me. Maybe if I had that edge during the off-season it would stay with me during the regular season.”

“It’s not an excuse. You have access to the league rules. Testing can be conducted anytime,” Richard Vigo said pulling up the regulations on his data pad and handing it down to her. “You’ve been suspended for four games. I’ll allow coach Till to decide how he’ll handle your return. I’m going to suggest you are not allowed to start for at least two more.”

Alyada’s mouth fell open. “It won’t be easy to fit you back into the starting line-up 5 games in,” Trey said sympathetically. “I certainly can’t imagine starting you after such a long suspension. If you want to come off the bench even you’ll have to prove you are the player I have coached for the past three seasons. You’ll need to demonstrate you have the skills you have always excelled in. And you will need to pass a weekly drug test administered by Starkillers staff. Do you agree to those terms?”

“Yes coach,” Alyada said with a nod.

It was sobering. I felt like I should be the one at the end of the table being dressed down. I hadn’t done anything wrong, I just wasn’t used to seeing others get tongue lashings. Those types of things were usually aimed at me. When I got home I waited to make sure Lucie was in the kitchen when I opened the ice box grabbed a fresh container of juice, opened it, took a swig and put it back on the shelf. “Ty Allin how many times have I told you that you need to use a glass,” Lucie scolded. I allowed a smile to escape my lips as I turned around to wink at T.J.


Tag: No one

 

GM APPROVED

Name: Randy "the rancor"
Species: Zabrak
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Position: Host of the Rancor Pitt HoloNet sports talk show.
Homeworld: Originally Coruscant, now Mandalore

Randy has been a sports fan, more specifically a Limmie fan for his entire life. Not blessed with the intrinsic skills nor athleticism to actually play the game competitively, he nonetheless managed to play on pee wee teams and even made his junior varsity team in high school. Following graduation, he never considered college and took on a job as a construction worker. He went where the work would take him and earned himself a simple living. He spent his days working and his nights drinking with friends and watching limmie. He was never a fan of any one team though, but a fan of the game itself. The intensity, the drive, the beauty. It all spoke to him.

In 276 ABY the ELL saw the Galactic Cup Finals game head to Mandalore. Logistically unready to handle the massive influx of fans, press and personnel that the game would bring, the call went out around the galaxy for construction on the new infrastructure required. Randy's company won the bid for a small hotel and shopping plaza on the outskirts of the capital city of Keldabe and so to Mandalore he went. It was an exciting time for Randy, being so close to the gargantuan stadium where the Galactic Cup champion was to be crowned, and to be working on something that was helping to bring that game here made it all the better. But there wasn't much to do for him locally during his short periods of downtime, downtime that became more and more scarce as the Game got closer and the project started to run behind time and over budget.

His little bit of relaxation came with his calling in to local radio and Holo shows, sports talk exclusively, where his knowledge of the game and sheer fanaticism soon made him a favorite of not only the hosts, but other listeners as well. He became known as a fan's fan, even on a place like Mandalore, and he began to appreciate the fanbase there as well. When the job had been finished, and the Galactic Cup champion crowned he found he wasn't ready to leave, but there was no work to be found and so he had little choice as he took on another construction job half way across the Galaxy.

But his heart never left Mandalore. He found that during his time there he had become a fan not only of the beautiful game, but of the Mercs themselves. He identified with the passion of not only the players, but the fans as well. He continued to call in to the Mandalorian stations, celebrating on air after every win and lamenting every loss.

His newfound fandom came at a good time as the 277 season saw the Mercs go all the way to the finals game. His call after their heartbreaking loss became the stuff of legend on on Mandalorian sports talk and he was contacted by the station to host his own show. He took no time in accepting the offer, and so found a new calling, one that married his love of the game to his booming voice and larger than life personality.

Now going into its second year the Rancor Pitt is the number one rated sports talk show in the Mandalorian sector. Randy "the rancor", is known as a fan's fan and takes the position from a fans perspective first and foremost. For him, and for many of his listeners the game is played for them and he won't hesitate to take anyone to task, from the league, to ownership to the players themselves if he feels the fans are being cheated.

---

Name: Justin Pitt
Species: Human
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Position: Co-host of the Rancor Pitt HoloNet sports talk show, former Limmie DB at The Ord Sabaok University. Member of 274 LFL Champion Concordia Crusader's team
Homeworld: Originally Ord Sabaok, now Mandalore

Justin Pitt is a charismatic individual, always the life of the party and the center of attention among his friends. After a stellar High School career he attended college locally at The Ord Sabaok University on a full ride scholarship to play for it's limmie team as a Defensive Back. His time there was dream come true. He wasn't the star of the team by any stretch of the imagination, though he was a backup on the 270 team that led the Super 16 Conference in fewest points allowed. His time in college did at least lead to him meeting his future wife, a member of the school's female shock-ball team.

Not quite good enough to throw himself into the pressure cooker that was the ELL draft, he tried to latch on to a few teams as a free agent, but none came looking. He signed onto the Mandalorian Mercs practice squad in 272 and eventually made his way on to the Concordia Crusader's roster, though he never received a callup to the "big club". Still his time on Concordia wasn't a total waste as he was an instrumental part in the Crusader's winning of the 274 LFL crown, an overtime game in which he made two interceptions and forced another turnover. It was the highlight of his professional limmie career.

Even after that win he never received more than token interest from the Mercs. The front office there saw him as good filler material, depth to take up a roster spot at the developmental level and help real prospects improve. As his career wore on, Pitt knew that he would never make it to an ELL roster, and though it stung at first, he was OK with that. He was still playing the game and getting paid to do it. He was married to a wonderful woman that didn't even mind living out in the armpit of the galaxy. Life was good.

Then the injury happened. Going into camp for the 277 season Pitt broke his leg playing a game of pickup shock ball with some of his friends. The Crusaders, noting the breach of contract and that the injury happened in an unsanctioned athletic event refused to help him in his treatment. They released him, a move which shattered his world. Despondent for months, his wife finally came to him with a suggestion. He had earned his degree from The Ord Sabaok University in communications and broadcasting, he needed to put playing limmie behind him and put that degree to good use.

The start of a new show, to be hosted by superfan Randy "the Rancor" was the talk of the town in sports circles. Justin used his remaining contacts in the Crusader's organization to get in touch with the Zabrak fan and the pair hit it off. Pitt was brought in right away to serve as Randy's co-host and the Rancor Pitt was born.

Now going into its second year the Rancor Pit is the number one rated sports talk show in the Mandalorian sector. Justin is known as a player's man, always taking the position of the players against that of the team, the league and yes even the fans. His enthusiasm for the game rivals that of his co-host and friend though at times they don't see eye to eye.

 

​

IC: The Rancor Pitt Show

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! From downtown Keldabe, on a sunny and warm Wednesday afternoooooooooooooon, welcome on into the Rancor Pitt. 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!"

The show started as it always had for almost two years now, with Randy's voice booming out through radios all across the Mandalorian sector. As was often the case of late, Pitt followed up with his own, interruption.

"It is a good show, not like yesterday where Rancor had too much cough syrup..."

"Oh c'mon. I had a cold, I needed that to get through the intro."

"Why not just pre-record the Live? The Fans would never know."

"Because then it wouldn't be Live." This was followed by what sounded to the listeners like a head slap dished out to Pitt from the Zabrak host.

"But like I was saying, we do have a big big show for you all."

"We do."

"We've got league response to the terrible, terrible events that happened on Euceron."

"Words don't even..."

"Of course we've still got reaction coming in from yet another Championship run by that team from Nar Shaddaa." There was a brief pause. "I gotta tell ya Pitt, I really was rooting for the Monarchs to pull that one out. I mean they finally get past the evil empire only to run into those hooligans from Vertical City and look what happened."

"Kind of reminds you of what happened to us last season, getting past the thugs only to lose out to the Empire."

"Yeah, yeah it does. And maybe that's why I was rooting for them. Though c'mon, honestly, I just wanted to see the Smugglers get crushed, just crushed, but once again that doesn't happen."

"The Limmie gods are smiling on them, must be making up for what the ownership gods handed them" He laughed almost sadistically at that, followed by a snort from Randy.

"A little below the belt there Justin, Just... Oh who am I kidding? I laughed at that too." He paused again before getting back on track.

"We've also got Helsman Trophy winner Tuvaash Mauntak, the cornerback from Druckenwell Technical University on the show coming up next hour. I gotta tell ya Justin, he would look great in a Mercs uniform, I don't know if they can pull that off. But he would fit in wonderfully."

"You gonna be brushing up on your Trandoshan for that one Rancor?"

"I barely speak basic, no way I could ever learn a second language."

"Really? I've heard you curse in mando'a before."

"Well anyone can do that, I mean even Kitterich can do that."

"Don't talk smack about the K-man, he knows droid speak too."

Randy was clearly exasperated now as he let out a drawn out sigh. "OK, fine. What about you? You speak a second language?"

There was a nervous chuckle from Pitt. "Well, I don't speak it, but I did take two years of Bothese at OSU (Go Bucks). I can ask where the bathroom is.... and that's about it though."

"Ah yes, the fine institution of learning that is The Ord Sabaok University."

"Don't be knocking the Bucks, I went there to play limmie, not learn Bothese."

"No one goes there to learn Bothan"

"Bothese"

"Whatever. We're way off track here now and we have a lot of ground to cover. Mauntak will be on the next hour, and we'll be devoting a lot of coverage to the tragedy on Euceron. but first, and I know this is on the minds of all you Mercs fans out there. The hiring..."

"The surprise hiring"

"The hiring of the new Mercs head coach, Ryi Kor'le."

"It was a surprise to me, I thought we had Hulu in the bag."

"You would have loved that, the former DB that you are."

"I would, I know you were counting on Chippy and his gimmick offense."

"It was even money between the two and it's not a gimmick. he's going to make waves whenever he makes the jump from college. But Kor'le, Kor'le wasn't on my radar at all, not on most anyone's radar. What do you think of the hire Justin?"

"It's surprising."

"We covered that."

"I just don't see how she is going to hold up as a first year head coach in this league. It's a steep learning curve man. I know she was an all-star caliber players, and from looking at her in the last ASG she could still play. But coach? C'mon, there is no way. She's been out of the league for years and Vizsla is just going to hand her the reigns? It makes no sense to me, and I am going to say, the players won't like it either. There are going to be some in that locker room that will see her as a washed up player trying to make a buck, and it won't go over well."

"I'm not gonna disagree with that Justin, i would love to, but I'm not. The hiring makes no sense, no sense at all to me. I think the fans will remember who she was a little better than some of the players. She was a leader on this team when it first got started up, but to throw jher into the meat grinder of head coaching with no prior experiance. It smacks of either arrogance or ignorance from the General Manager. Either he thinks he is smarter than everyone else and got the jump here, or he is so desparate for some kind of Mandalorian name to put on the sidelines that he grasped for a really really short straw."

"She's not going to win in her first year Rancor, I can guarantee that."

"New Mercs head coaches have had a great record up until now. They made the playoffs their first year in the ELL. Then when Vizsla took over as head coach they made it all the way to the finals. Braun did the same in his first year. But you're right, I don't think Kor'le will be able to continue that trend. Those people all had coaching experience at some point down the line. What was Kor'le doing this past season?"

"Aside from the all-star game appearance?"

"Yeah aside from that."

"Bounty hunting I guess. I mean that's what she retired to go do isn't it?"

"I... yeah, I mean, I think so. Truth be told I haven't been keeping tabs on Kor'le. Nobody has!!! That's probably a huge part of why this is such a big shock to Mercs Nation right now."

"Well she better put together one hell of a staff to help her out, because she is totally out of her depth right now."

"No joke. I mean, sure, yeah, in a few years she could be a good coach. She was a great player, and after she learned as an assitant, or even maybe coaching down at Concordia she might be ready for this. But now?"

"No way"

"Absolutely, no way"

"Well there ya have it, I guess. Those are our first thoughts on this hiring that came out of no where, now where. We're going to break and when we come back, we'll take your calls and see what you all think of the hiring of Ryi Kor'le as the new head coach of the Mando'ade Mercs. Back after this..."

TAG: No one.

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Coruscant trades for C-Bucs veteran keeper Camille Montes, sending Ziva Kender (GK), Girola Gundor (HB), and Pella Lovenforth (C/FF) to Hapes in exchange
• Veteran half back Becki Morlan signs new contract with Senators
• Ralltiir and Ylesia will Battle for the Sky in preseason as ELL warm up
• In wake of Mercs head coaching hiring, Miners announce new three year contract for Cuth Hulu as assistant coach
• Valerii to media: “We’re putting the band back together”

Friendlies
November 9
Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Loronar Colonials
November 16
Byblos Red Wings at Rydonni Prime Monarchs
November 23
Naboo Ducks at Bakura Miners
Coruscant Senators at Chandrila Patriots
Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Balmorra Blasters
Ralltiir Starkillers at Ylesia Lightning

TAG: Jedi Gunny Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Blues Brothers fans everywhere

 

IC: Aebatt Zargana
Location: Unused office, University of Euceron main building, Eusebus, Euceron
Time: Three days after Euceron Stadium explosion

Aebatt read over the report one more time, then put her head in her hands. She wanted to rip up the report, pretend it never happened. But she couldn't. The evidence was all over the city; debris had been thrown for miles, breaking windows, doors, and hearts.

She looked up to see a hoverchair entering the room, bearing Wilrax Tunran IV. The team owner had been lucky to escape the explosion with relatively minor injuries, but he would be confined to the hoverchair for the rest of his life. Aebatt silently reminded herself how lucky she was to have not been in the stadium at all when it blew; she had skipped the rally to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding on Naboo that had been scheduled for months.

“How bad is it?” Wilrax asked in a weak voice.

“Well, we're going to have to work free agency and the draft hard,” Aebatt said, trying to dodge the question for the moment. The last thing she needed was Wilrax having a literal heart attack if she just bluntly dropped the news. “Lucky we've got six picks this year, though we may need to trade down and get even more. I may look into trading future picks for veterans on other teams to provide some experience, so that—”

“Cut the poodoo. I want hard numbers. How many players dead, how many injured?”

Aebatt sighed. If Wilrax was going to be stubborn, then she let him have it. “Chenkabukk, Yan'ii, Clarisse, and Soneps.”

The four names hung in the air for a moment before Wilrax responded. “That's it?”

“That's it.”

“Well, if that's all we lost, then—”

Aebatt interrupted, bracing for his reaction. “No, that's all that survived.”

“Doctor Zargana, this is not the time to joke.”

Force, she hated being called that. “I am well aware of that.”

Suddenly, Wilrax fixated his eyes on Aebatt, staring here in the face. “You're serious? We lost all but four players?”

“Yes. I'm serious.”

Wilrax sat with a blank expression on his face for a moment, then slowly lowered his head into his one functioning arm. “Can it get any worse?”

Aebatt did not get the chance to respond because her comlink buzzed. The readout on the side said that the caller was the hospital. She answered, spoke for a minute, then hung up and turned back to Wilrax. “Apparently it can get worse. Yan'ii just died on the operating table. So we're down to three living players.”

“Wonderful,” Wilrax said, exaggerating a sarcastic tone.

Aebatt continued. “And I haven't even mentioned yet that Chenkabukk's injuries are likely career-ending. So we really have to build a new team with a foundation of just Clarisse and Soneps. Oh, and I checked, and the Elite League has no provisions for a disaster draft. We're on our own.”

Wilrax closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and Aebatt guessed that he was trying to keep from losing his temper. After a moment, he fished out his datapad. “Let me check the team's finances here and see what we can do. While I'm waiting on this to come up, what's the overall death toll here?”

Aebatt reached for the morning report from the rescue team commander. “So far? One hundred fifty thousand confirmed dead, nine thousand injured. Plus another hundred and sixty thousand still missing, and most of those are either dead already or will die before anyone unburies them.”

“Kriff us all,” Wilrax replied. “Any news on Haron?”

“Dead,” Aebatt simply said, no longer trying to dance around the terrible truth.

“So we have two players and the two of us left, and that's it? This literally could not get worse. Ah, here's the bank account—what the...?”

“What's wrong?”

“This shows we have a balance of five credits.”

“Five credits?!” Aebatt fairly screamed as she reached out and snatched the datapad out of Wilrax's hand to look at it. Sure enough, it showed an account balance of just 5.2 credits. Aebatt knew that it should have been in the tens of millions.

Aebatt looked at Wilrax, and both spoke the same word at the same time: “Bassell.”

Aebatt nodded her head in acknowledgment. “We know he had people on the inside. Someone must have gained access to the account and drained it. And Euceron law gives us no recourse to recover more than a quarter million credits.”

“So how to we sign new players?”

“We don't. Forget free agency. Forget the draft. Forget trading for veterans. We're going to have to play with scrubs that will take league minimum.”

“But how will we pay even that? Give me the datapad back.” Aebatt handed it to him, and he poked at the buttons and screen for a few minutes, cursing occasionally. Finally, he tossed the datapad onto a table beside them. “I can't believe this. That bastard drained every last one of my family's accounts as well. Savings accounts, debit accounts, investment accounts, everything. I'm as broke as the team now. How do we raise money now?”

“Well, we can get a quarter million back upon reporting the fraud on the team accounts, and another quarter million once the fraud in your accounts is corrected. That's half a million. The league minimum salary is... let me see here... half a million. So that will pay one player for the season. We need fourteen more, plus the ability to replace injured players. So about sixteen more salaries at half a million each means we need to raise eight million credits to cover salaries. And that doesn't even cover travel expenses, or my salary, or the cost of renting a stadium for next season.”

“The stadium will be the biggest expense, right?”

“Right. We're looking at about five million for four or five home games.”

“What if we forget the stadium?”

“I don't follow.”

“What would the extra travel expenses be for an all-road schedule?”

Aebatt considered this for a moment. Playing an all-road schedule was an interesting thought. It meant they wouldn't need a stadium, but it meant spending more on travel. Not much more, though, if the team traveled directly from one game to the next without returning to Euceron during the season. “Depends on the method of transportation. I'm thinking about selling that fancy shuttle we bought last decade. Not only do commercial flights cost less, but we lose the maintenance expenses, flight crew's salaries, et cetera. Plus we could probably get about three million from the sale of the shuttle, which would go a long way. Either way, we'd probably be looking at an extra twenty to twenty-five percent on travel expenses if we play all-road.”

“And how much is that?”

“Assuming we sell the shuttle and fly the team commercially, about two hundred thousand for a regular schedule, or two-fifty for an all-road schedule.”

“So figure we need eight million for salaries, a quarter million for travel, and what for equipment, a coach's salary, and anything else?”

“Figure about fifty grand for equipment, and two hundred for the salary of a new team doctor.”

Wilrax's jaw dropped. “We lost Mrolak, too?”

“Likely. He's still among the missing. We would have to pay him anyway, so from a financial perspective, it makes no difference. Anyway, I'll willingly take a one-credit salary next season, and I think I can double as the coach for a season until we can get back on our feet, which cuts out another salary. I think that's it.”

“So we need eight point five million credits.” Wilrax leaned back in his hoverchair and scratched his head. “What do we do? Find team sponsors?”

“Actually, I've been thinking about that as we've been talking,” Aebatt said, pushing some paperwork to the side. “We already know that we can't pay draft minimum salaries, which makes our six picks useless—or so it appears.”

“What do you mean?”

Aebatt held up the datapad in her hand. “While we've been discussing our financial need, I've been multitasking. I have the Elite League bylaws here, specifically the section regarding draft pick trades.”

“That's not going to help us. We need cash, not future picks or overpriced players.”

“I'm aware of that. Those aren't our only options. The bylaws appear to permit trading picks for cash.”

“Wait. You're saying we can sell the picks?”

“Exactly. Auction them off to the highest bidder.”

“That's a bold idea. Has anyone ever done this?”

“In the Elite League? No. We would be the first.”

“Well, it works for me. Announce it and see what we can get.”

---

OOC:

Effective immediately, all six of Euceron's draft picks are for sale to the highest bidder. These sales will go down in official League records as a "trade for cash considerations". Any team wishing to obtain extra picks may submit bids to me by PM. Please follow these rules:

• Keep your bids reasonable. Nobody's going to pay a hundred million credits for a draft pick. Bids that in my opinion are unrealistically high will be rejected outright. I will allow quite a bit of leeway here, but don't push too hard.
• You may bid on as many picks as you want, but each pick will be sold separately. This means that if you want three picks, for example, you must name a separate price for each one. Attempts to bid on multiple picks as a single lot will be rejected.
• Please submit your bids in a new PM thread, with all bids in one thread. This means that if you have an existing, ongoing PM convo with me, don't use that convo to submit bids. Start a new one instead.
• Just like a real auction, bids are binding once placed. Of course, since we don't normally track cash on hand in this game, why would you want to retract a bid?
• Bids must be cash only. Attempts to trade for players or future draft picks will be rejected.
• If you are overbid, you will be notified as soon as possible, at minimum once per day. The overbid notice will not include the amount of the overbid or the identity of the high bidder; this information will remain secret until the auction is over.
• The auction will end Saturday evening. An exact time will be announced in OOB on Friday night or Saturday. At that time, the highest bid for each pick wins that pick.
• Have fun. Free stuff is good.

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

 

HSN Euceron Headlines and Rumor Mill

• Source within Storm organization indicates that General Manager Aebatt Zargana was "optimistic" prior to the start of bidding that the team's six draft picks would net a total of 20 million credits
• Same source claims "that figure has already been exceeded" and that "teams will have to think seriously before laying out the kind of money that would be needed to overbid on any pick at this point"
• Anchor Taru Racette speculates based on this information that the #7 overall pick could potentially go for high seven figures, with a chance at very low eight figures if a good bidding war develops
• Taru Racette: "If the leak that the total of the high bids is already over 20 million is true, then teams are looking at digging deep into their pocketbooks to claim these picks. And not every team has pockets deep enough to do so."
• Source also claims that same team currently holds all six picks
• Taru Racette says that this is "unlikely", further saying that very few teams would have the ability to offer so much money out of the gate: "The only teams I can think of that could offer up twenty-plus million on a whim are Coruscant and possibly Ralltiir, and I don't see why either would be in need of six extra draft picks."

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

OOC: I have rejected one bid as unrealistically high so far. You're welcome to discuss your bidding in IC posts, and doing so makes me more likely to accept very high bids. If you're in the gray area on such a bid, I'm more likely to allow it if you've discussed the ramifications of such an expense IC, thereby showing that you've "done your homework" and aren't just trying to steal free stuff.

 

IC: Gark S’rily
Home, Coruscant

Gark woke up that morning feeling remarkably refreshed. Given that the last few weeks had been hellish as he needed to keep getting up in the middle of the night to tend to the new baby’s every need (and there were seemingly a ton of them), it felt nice to finally be able to sleep soundly for once without having his cage rattled by the piercing screams of a baby not too far away from where he slept. Why they kept the crib in the bedroom, he didn’t know. At some point that would have to change. But he just never found the time to finish the construction project to build another room on the house; that had been delayed by the end of school, and then things kept coming up to stop him from finishing it. Mykal had been giving him some help, as well as Polis, but they hadn’t been able to finish it before Me’lin had given birth.

As he rolled out of bed, he mentally checked on the crib. Silence answered him, and he took a sigh of relief. It was nice to not have to deal with that, especially on a good day. He could feel it in his bones that today was going to be a great one. Getting up on his feet, he readied himself for the day, which he would spend at Team HQ. It wasn’t a scheduled Andromeda day, so instead he was Senator GM. It was sometimes hard to wear multiple hats, as the businessman, general manager, and dad, but he did the best he could.

He flicked on his datapad, and saw that there was a message on it from one of the team secretaries. “Details will be available when you come in to work,” it said at the end. Gark closed the message and took one last sip of his drink before finishing his morning routine. He wasn’t sure what the message was about, but he hoped it would be something positive.

As he picked up his team things, he made sure to bid farewell to Galin as the boy ate his breakfast, and then got to the door. By now Me’lin was up, and she was carrying weeks-old Cecilia in her arms. “Have a good day,” she said, kissing her husband.

“I have a feeling it will be,” Gark replied.

“Well, even if it isn’t, I know how to make it better,” his wife said with a sly smirk. “A lot better.”

“We’ll see when I get home,” Gark said, returning the smirk before leaving. Yes, his wife definitely knew how to make him feel better when he felt down. But he hoped he wouldn’t need a pick-me-up today.

When he got to the office, the details came hard and fast. “Conference call with Becki Morlan’s agent in fifteen minutes,” the secretary said as the Bothan came walking in.

“Fifteen? I can do that,” Gark said. He sauntered into his office, moved a few things around, and then found his notes. This would be an interesting meeting. Then he went to the conference room, where he was soon joined by Assistant GM Allie Orchetrada and head coach Peet Carelle, the Langann nominee.

“Not sure what we’re going to get today,” Gark commented to the other two. “Either she’s willing to talk to us, or she’s not.”

“Isn’t that how most free agent talks go?” Allie inquired.

“Tryvold was easy to convince to sign,” Gark said, commenting about Tria Tryvold, the veteran half back who had played GCLA Limmie the prior season while out of the Elite League. She had signed for the veteran’s minimum on a non-guaranteed contract with an invite to big league camp. There was no guarantee she would make the roster, but she would have a chance. The need for half backs was ever-present, and having a strong defense was key for the Senators’ success. They still had an unresolved situation at goaltender, but Gark was sure that he and his staff would make a decision on that later. Now they had to be in the frame of mind to talk to a former Miner who likely wouldn’t be as easy to persuade.

“Incoming call. Taking it,” the secretary said. The Holo projector hummed to life, and the image of an agent, and Morlan herself, appeared. “Ah, Ms. Morlan,” Gark said. “And your agent. So nice of you to call.”

“We’re in a bit of a hurry, so give us some terms for a potential contract,” the agent said brusquely.

Gark looked through his notes. He had written out several proposals for this occasion. “For starters, we would like to ask a few questions.”

“Clock’s ticking. Got other teams to talk to today. Tick tock,” the agent said before ceding the floor to his client.

“Ms. Morlan, how are you doing this morning . . . today . . . I’m not sure what time it is where you are, so I’ll stick with today,” Gark asked.

“Doing fine. Wanting to find a contract as soon as possible,” the Hapan replied.

“What interests you about signing with us for this upcoming season?” Gark asked. This was a money question; why would the former Miner want to talk to the Senators, their long-time rival?

“Contract talks with the Miners stalled. They didn’t agree with what I wanted, so I left. Simple as that,” Morlan said.

“How do you see yourself fitting in with our organization? I know that you and Allesh were quite the duo in college and the pros. Why leave?”

“It was time to move on. The Miners weren’t willing to pay me.”

“How would you fit in here?” Gark reiterated.

“I can provide scoring, offensive fundamentals, and size. My coaches always said that I had good size and length for my position.”

“And how much do you believe you are worth on the open market?”

“She is worth at least 15 million over 4 years,” her agent snapped. “And that’s generous.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to spend that kind of money on a player who was given a crutch during her career. Without Allesh, are you worth almost 4 mil a year?” Gark asked.

“If you think that way, then we have nothing more to discuss. More teams to talk to . . .” the agent said.

“I’m not done,” Gark snapped, shutting the agent up. He paused for a few seconds before beginning again. “It’s been about a month and a half since you became a free agent, Ms. Morlan, and yet there aren’t any rumors of you seriously considering a contract from anyone in the Elite League. And Hapes hasn’t offered you anything . . . that’s curious. Face it, most teams think you’re worthless without Allesh by your side. And thus you don’t really have any other teams to talk to because they think your demanded terms are a long-term risk.”

“What are you saying?” the agent asked, alarmed.

“You’re bluffing, and we both know it,” Gark said. “No other team has quoted you anything near what you’re asking for. That much I can tell, just by the mannerism.”

“And your point?”

“You’re trying to force me to give in to your demands without a context of what others are willing to pay you,” Gark said simply. He twirled his thumbs a little bit as he spoke. “I’m pretty well-versed in the rumor mill, and currently the Euceron bidding war is getting more publicity than your free agent market. I would say that you’re not fetching much interest on the open market, at least not as much as you would expect.” He paused again, but nothing from the agent came his way. So he kept going. “As such, I am prepared to give you an offer, because I feel like we could definitely use you this next season. No gimmicks, or we cut the connection and you can go play in the Premier League next season. Or the Futures League. I’m sure you’d want to play with a bunch of farmhands.”

“Maybe Euceron will give me a contract,” Morlan contested.

“Doubtful. You’re asking too much from them. They’re looking for cash, which means they can’t pay you. Now, if you aren’t willing to talk to us, then you are excused from this conference call.”

Morlan bit her lip, and looked at her agent. He looked disgusted; Gark guessed that this meeting wasn’t going as either of them had hoped. Then she looked back to the Holo camera. “Fine. What are you willing to offer?” she asked.

“2 years, 5 mil,” Gark said.

“No way!” the agent shrieked. “That’s way too low! At least three million, and that’s just a start!”

“We’re starting to lose connection,” Gark said, and he played with the knob a little bit to break up the Holo feed. “I’m afraid I’ll have to move on to my next name on the list . . .”

“Fine!” Morlan said. “I’ll sign it.”

“You’ll what?!” her agent asked, astonished.

“I’ll sign for two and a half mil per year. Got no other choice, do I?” the Hapan asked.

“Of course you do . . .” her agent said.

“Like what, Jaymes? All you’ve told me is that I’ve gotten offers from Kessel and Dantooine. I don’t want to play on a chunk of rock, or one some planet way the hell out of the way. I want to stay in the Elite League!”

“But you’ve got more offers coming in . . .” Jaymes offered.

“Forget it. I’m signing,” Morlan commented. “And that’s final.”

“Good,” Gark said. “My staff will send you the paperwork, and you can fill it out at your leisure. Now, if that’s all we have to discuss . . .”

“But I want to start this season,” Morlan said. “I’m not sitting on the bench.”

“Fair enough,” Gark said. “But you better produce this year. We’re counting on you being what you were with the Miners.”

It wasn’t long after that the paperwork came back with Morlan’s signature on it, and the forms were sent in to the League offices for processing. By the end of the day, Becki Morlan was a Coruscant Senator.

The next item on Gark’s agenda was about his goalkeeper problem. He had Ziva Kender and Jam Tarpals with Elite League experience, but neither had been extremely impressive. Kender had been shelled in her rookie year, and had spent most of the past two seasons with Thyferra. However, she was still a major prospect in the Senator system, ranked #2 overall after newly-minted top prospect Callie Polarez on the recently-released rankings Mac had given him. Tarpals had backed up now-retired Zeke Barbosa the prior season, going 3-2 in his five starts. But he had been rattled late in the season, so his future as a viable starter was in question. Oola Ban was definitely out of the running, as she had been destroyed in her starts in the Futures League. If no one was brought in, and Kender and Tarpals were to be the Elite League platoon, then Ban would be the Force’s starter. Gark wasn’t sure what to make of that situation, but he knew it wasn’t good. He hoped that his staff could find something for him to make him feel better about that situation.

By the end of the day, he had kicked the tires on several other free agents in the pool, and had tasked his scouting department to find some information on the current crop of goaltenders in the upcoming Draft, and those who hadn’t been included in the rankings but had some skill. With those things settled, he headed home.

Me’lin met him at the door. “How was your day?” she asked.

“Pretty good. Got the target to sign, so we’ve got some more firepower up front. And we’ve got some new scouting reports on goalies to go over before the Draft.”

“Sounds like a good day,” Me’lin said.

“But I could use a little pick-me-up anyways,” Gark said, smirking.

“I thought you’d never ask,” his wife said.

“It’s my lucky day,” Gark replied.

“Very lucky,” Me’lin said as she tossed off her shoes. They quickly found themselves in their bedroom, and when Gark shut off the light, he knew that it had indeed been a good day. And it was about to get better.


TAG: No One

 

IC: Romo Crowley
Euceron Stadium, Eusebus, Euceron
123rd Galactic Cup Final, Monarchs vs. Smugglers, 12-25

Romo could now completely understand the infamous quote by the Hi-lo ball great Bergi Yora, ‘It’s like déjà-vu, all over again.’ They struggled their way through the regular season, fight from third to become conference champs, only to be denied the Cup by the Smugglers. Since joining the Elite League, there was only one other team who the Monarchs have faced more than Nar Shaddaa and they were the team that introduced the Monarchs to the league.

The Miners had two more matched against the Monarchs than the Smugglers, but the results were light years apart. The Blue & Gold Bowl was a lesson in parity, meanwhile the Smugglers taught the Monarchs humility. Of the twelve times the two teams from opposite sides of the galaxy, Rydonni Prime only walked away three times with a victory.

This time was no different. It seemed like the match was over before it even started. The Smugglers played with a passion, a fire that said this was not their first rodeo. Even when he changed his lineup to their more traditional six-two-six formation, it didn’t slow the Cup juggernaut. They would start moving the bolo only to be turned away empty handed.

Helplessly, Romo stood on the sidelines and watched it all unfold in front of him. With each break in action, his star offensive weapon would find her way out of bounds and proceed to get sick. At the half, the trainers were surrounding her, force hydrating her body. But every time he tried to find out what exactly was happening to Vesper, Dr. Cyxan would emphatically ensure him that everything was alright.

Of course, Vesper’s physical condition was inconsequential as she basically never touched the bolo. The Monarchs were outmatched once more by their rival… no… their nemesis. Rival implied that they were at some point equals. The Smugglers were, without a doubt, the bane of the Monarchs. As the Smugglers celebrated, the Monarchs departed the pitch.

“Someday,” Romo said to Oss’irh’cgood as they walked into the tunnel, “Someday we’ll figure these guys out.”

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

Galactic Games hotel, Eusebus, Euceron
The next morning

Romo’s bags were packed and being loaded on the team shuttle to the spaceport. The Monarchs opted to stay the night on Euceron before starting the journey back to Rydonni Prime. Normally the Head Coach would have taken his own bags to the shuttle, but Vesper Lynd requested to meet with him before they headed home.

The servo-droid had just finished making up the room when there was a knock at his door. “Enter.” The door slide open to reveal the All-Star Forward waiting on the other side, “Lynd. Come in. What’s so pressing that it couldn’t wait until after we left?”

“Well,” she started quietly, “for starters, I’m not going to be traveling with the team.”

Romo’s face did not betray his confusion. Instead it remained placid and allowed her to continue.

“As a matter of fact, I will be taking a leave of absence…”

“Woah! Now wait one minute. What are you talking about?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I’m not going to be playing next season.”

Shaking his head, Romo took to his feet, “No, I’m not going to allow it and there is no way that Setarcos will approve it.”

A small grin graced Vesper’s lips, “You don’t have a choice, I’m one of the owners. Remember?”

“But you can’t make personnel decisions without a majority vote and GM approval. Even then, you can’t do it during the season.”

“Last I checked the season ended last night.”

“Ok… fine, but you still don’t have my approval.”

“Oh, I’m sorry you misunderstood. I’m not asking for your permission,” Vesper stood up and handed Romo a datapad, “I’m informing you of a decision.”

Romo quickly scanned the information and resigned himself to the fact that he had no options. “So what is this,” he looked at the datapad for accuracy, “’ensuing personal matter’ that will keep you sidelined for at least one,” he glanced at the pad again, “potentially two seasons!”

“It’s personal.”

”Come on!”

“IT’S PERSONAL!”

He could tell that she was getting frustrated with him, but he needed an answer. He deserved one.

“You’re an award winning, All-Star Full Forward, team captain. Nothing is personal.”

“I’M PREGNANT! ALRIGHT!”

The last sentence just hung in the space between them. Romo found himself dumbfounded. “What.. what am I supposed to tell the press?” he stuttered.

“Training exercise. Isn’t that the usual poodoo?” Vesper said with shrug and then turned to leave the room.

“It’s not that simple…” Romo called after her, but she just kept walking out leaving him with yet another problem to solve.

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

IC: Setarcos Rhemes
Ryell, Rydonni Prime
One week after Galactic Cup 123

The Monarchs’ GM had ninety-nine problems, but credits ain’t one of them. The Monarchs second successful run to the Galactic Cup finals in three seasons found merchandise sales soar through the stratosphere. Couple that with the fact that most of their players were under contract until 281 there was no need to worry about contracts. Plus, with all the recent terrorist attacks once again, K’ntarr Consolidated was in the midst of a landmark year in profits.

What he did have to worry about was getting a draft pick, finding a replacement for Julla Ehennifer on Byblos, answering the flood of interview requests about Vesper’s season ending ‘accident’, and deciding on appropriate disciplinary action for Abe Cynour and Sugnok Umanh. Like the song said, ‘more money, more problems’.

“What the frak are we going to do about this Hris?” The GM’s were holoconferencing with each other. Setarcos was reading an article from Galactic Limmie. It stated that a source close to the organization confirmed that Abe and Sugnok intentionally played poorly in the LFL Semifinals after learning that they were possibly being shopped. “One is this at all true? Two how did they find out about being on the block? And three, who in the nine hells is this source?”

Hris just shook his head, “Cynour and Umanh aren’t confirming or denying these allegations or that they even knew about being on the block. And I have absolutely no clue who this source may be.”

“Fine… let’s move on to your Head Coach issue.”

“I wanted my old coach, Bo Scotman, but he made it abundantly clear that he was retired… indefinitely.”

That made Setarcos chuckle.

“So in lieu of that,” Hris continued, “I’ve forwarded you a proposal… call it a six man swing.”

Setarcos looked over the idea mapped out by Hris and grinned a little while nodding his head. “That’s not a bad idea… gives me some new blood, but allows you to have a firm foundation layed by experienced coaches. It’s a great way of ensuring our team culture survives… I like it… but let me make one slight change.”

As he put his finishing touches on a press release announcing the coaching changes, an icon flashed across the top of his datapad. A short blurb followed miniature graphical representation of the Galactic Cup. ‘Euceron announces an auction of 279 Draft Picks in an attempt to remain solvent.’

“Hris, I’m going to have to call you back. I’ve got an auction to win.”


TAG: Trieste and Vehn and jcgoble3

 

HSN Euceron Headlines and Rumor Mill

• Source suggests to HSN Euceron that "several" new bids were placed since the last report and that the #7 pick is "already in eight figures"
• Source also reports that bottom picks have reached seven figures, and the picks are no longer monopolized by one team
• Source: "At this point, it would be virtually impossible for one team to take all six picks. I expect that most picks will sell for little more than the current bid; that's how high these have been bid up."
• General Manager Aebatt Zargana refuses to comment on accuracy of leaks, repeatedly saying that "the bidding process was advertised as secret, and we are trying to respect that"
• Aebatt also makes it clear that she is "frustrated" with the leaks, and vows to identify the source and put an end to it: "The fewer salaries we have to pay at this point, the better."

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

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines (with new and improved Rumor Mill!)
Agamar Packers pleased to announce that all franchise members (players and staff) have accepted three year extensions, inclusive of an annual pay increment, to their contracts
Mando'ade Mercs announce the signing of Manta Se'o (Halfback) to 2 year contract with a 3rd year player option
Mercs sources state that team won't get involved in a bidding war for Euceron draft picks. "We have a limited budget, and while resources have been allocated towards this end, we won't be overpaying for assets"
After eight seasons, numerous injuries, and missing the majority of 278, Stewah-Tam Ford quietly retires upon returning to Rydonni Prime
Undisclosed source, "Don't be surprised to see Ford on the limmie sidelines next season"
Romo Benedict Crowley III at the Monarchs' post season press conference, "Vesper Lynd suffered an unfortunate injury during a post season training exercise. She will miss the duration of the 279 ELL season and depending on her rehabilitation, may not be back for the 280 ELL season"
Monarchs Midfielder coach, Dawn Solo-Undolo, and Defensive Backs coach, Lex Silas, promoted to Head and Assistant Head coaches of the Byblos Red Wings, respectively. They are to be replaced by Red Wings Midfielder coach, Laura Cynd-Nazug, and Defensive Backs coach, Biedo Nazug
Recently retired Monarchs Stewah-Tam Ford and Bry Dougant reportedly on the short list for replacing Cynd-Nazug and Nazug on the Red Wings
Rumors out of the Monarchs' GM office state that Rhemes opened his bidding with a 25 million credit offer to Euceron for draft picks
No word on if this bid was superceded as suggested by HSN Euceron sources

TAG: Bardan_Jusik CPL_Macja jcgoble3 Tim Battershell

 

GM Post​

​

Elite League Limmie 279: Life Is A Bolo-Ball Game​

​

(This song is not intended to constitute an endorsement of a particular religious or spiritual viewpoint. I just think it’s clever and a fun allegory and attitude with which we can think of our own stories in the context of this game and the sport of limmie. )​

For the first time since he had first stepped in front of the media, introduced by Niakara Kayl’hen, Fenrir Lokensgaard felt doubt.

He had not wavered while ridiculed by Euceron school children or when authorities there had been angry that the League had leaked word of Bassell’s escape (in his defense, they should have made it clearer that such information was not being publicized by them--he had lots of communications that came across his desk every day). Wookiees everywhere still wanted to rip his arms out, or at least his voicebox, for saying “oya” too many times. On Coruscant, Senator fans felt robbed of the Commissioner’s Trophy (he’d let Gondorf have “the hairdryer treatment” for allowing an ambiguity in the rules like that to slip through after they’d revised them the previous offseason) and still resented him. Even the beings of Agamar--who seemingly liked everyone--had been ruffled by the scheduling error in 277.

But all of that was petty and paled in comparison to what he faced now.

This offseason had been hard. Harder than any his two predecessors had ever faced. The events on Euceron had been horrific. It almost caused one to forget the other horrifying tragedies that had happened during his tenure. The deaths of Kaitlyn Vehn and John Huntington on Nar Shaddaa. The senseless murder of Martin Vigo a year before.

It was too much. Some days he sat on the floor in his office, his head against the wall, and looked at nothing. Oh, he knew that he should not let his grief master him. But it was just too much.

He had wanted this, wanted it so badly. He deserved it. He had worked so hard to get here. No one had ever taken him seriously. Everyone had thought he was crazy, working for a limmie league and a lower tier one at that. “You’ll never do anything worthwhile there, Fenrir.” “Get a real job, Fenrir.” “Be more like your brother, Fenrir.” “Stop eating my cake, Fenrir.” This was where he was going to prove them all wrong. He was going to show them all just what he was capable of.

He had tried hard to stop these things from happening. A league-wide review of security and still Euceron Stadium had been reduced to rubble. It had not been at a league game, but that didn’t matter to his detractors. What more could the league have been expected to do? Hire some telepathic Jedi to predict the future? He would have if the High Council had let him have any. He’d offered to reimburse them for their time, but apparently that “wasn’t the way the Force worked,” or some other ridiculous excuse that amounted to, “You’re stupid Fenrir. Stop bothering us important Jedi.”

They still said he was a puppet of the Triestes. One Galactic Cup and one Commissioner’s Trophy to the Miners in two seasons gave them enough “evidence” to perpetuate their paranoia. (Though they suddenly to disregard the apparent not-evidence that was intelligent drafting and player development on an organizational scale by a self-proclaimed smarty pants like Quinn Cundertol who suddenly was everybody’s favorite dark haired, pasty human when put next to me, Fenrir thought.) Maybe he should start colluding with them if that’s what everyone was going to think. As it was, the only time he ever met any of the members of this so-called “Noble House” was at Board of Governors meetings and they were chummier with the Mandalorians than they were with him. He wouldn’t mind an 0-11 season out of the Miners just to shut up the rest of the league.

But that was the hand he had been dealt. Reality would not rearrange itself for his convenience. It never had. Only he could fix this. That began today.

Fenrir gathered himself and stepped through the curtains.

“Welcome, welcome to the 279 Elite League Limmie Draft!” he proclaimed to the fans. In their enthusiasm for the Draft, they cheered. He chose to accept that as an endorsement of him as well.



He smiled, as if nothing was wrong. Fenrir Lokensgaard might look to be an idiot sometimes, but he knew that what the League--what limmie fans everywhere needed--was a Commissioner who could reassure them that everything was going to be okay.

“Let’s deal with the bantha in the hall tonight--the Elite League has had some rough times recently. From Euceron, to Nar Shaddaa, to Ralltiir...every time we have picked ourselves up, we have been knocked down again.” The hall was very quiet at the memory of these events.

“But that,” Fenrir said, punctuating the silence, “is the game of limmie. You get brought down and you get up every time. That is what gives us the opportunity for greatness. That is the spirit that lives inside the soul of every player, every fan. That is why we are here tonight.

“And that is why we took steps to make 279 the best season of limmie yet.

“Let’s start with the small things first, shall we? Now, I know some of you--perhaps those of you who support a certain...political team, perhaps? Legislative, no less? Some of you were not happy with the way the Commissioner’s Trophy was awarded last season.” There was some scattered booing. He put up his hands, as if surrendering. “I know, I know--that could have been done better. That’s why we’ve clarified the rules for the Trophy to make sure that it’s clear what the League has always intended--that it go to one of the two teams that wins its conference outright.

“Secondly, we made a little switch in the conferences--one I think is going to be good,” Fenrir said, “That’s why the strong ladies of Hapes are going to mix it up in the Skywalker Conference--” cheering, both male and female, at this, “--and the Ylesia Lightning are going to see if they can shock the Solo Conference.” Further cheering and hollering for the Lightning. “I think the Battle for the Sky is about to get a little more intense now that it’s a conference game, don’t you? Not to mention who knows what Carratos is going to think about a new set of pirates coming onto the turf, don’t you?”

“Of course, we also had another teensy change--and that’s that every team will play each other this season in round robin format,” Fenrir said. There was plenty of cheering for that announcement. “This is going to really show who deserves to make the playoffs. No more, ‘If only they’d played them this season, we’d really know who’s better.’ Now we’re going to know. And, what’s more, every team’s going to have a little bit of experience against any team they see in the playoffs. That’s going to make the Galactic Cup Final just a little bit more interesting, don’t you think?”

“And, to top it all off, we’re going to see both conferences showdown against each other in sevens once again in the All-Star Game. Now, I know that you’re all clamoring for it--” no one was clamoring for much of anything at all at the moment, “--but if you’re all very nice I might just officiate the game again. It is a very important burden, but one I’m willing to shoulder for the good of the sport.

“Speaking of which, new blood is good for limmie, and that’s why we’re here,” Fenrir said, “But I don’t think you want get to the actual draft, do you?” The fans roared to the contrary. “You just want me to talk more, don’t you?” Nobody wanted this and made it clear. “Fine then--I’m sure you want me to sing, don’t you?”

In unison, the fans replied, “Nooooooooooo.”

“Okay then, I’ll ‘gooooooo,’ like you want,” Fenrir said.

​

“But really, it can’t be all fun and games. We do have to do this draft thing. And honestly, I think the Carratos Pirates have waited long enough for their first overall draft pick, don’t you think?” Fenrir said, the oblique reference clear to all present.

“I hereby begin the 279 Elite League Limmie Draft!” Lokensgaard declared, “The Carratos Pirates are now on the clock.”



TAG: Bardan_Jusik CPL_Macja galactic-vagabond422 jcgoble3 (who asked for more Lokensgaard in the offseason survey ) Jedi Gunny Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Tim Battershell Vehn

 

GM Post
Draft Hall...somewhere in the galaxy

Lokensgaard returned to the podium as the Draft hall buzzed. What could be coming?

"Gentlebeings..." he said, leaning into the mic.

The hall held its breath. Lokensgaard usually only took the podium to announce a trade. Had the Carratos Pirates traded the first overall pick in the Draft, something that had never happened before?

"...I am here to make an announcement on behalf of the Carratos Pirates organization," Fenrir continued, pausing one more, clearly relishing the moment.

"With the first overall pick in the 279 Elite League Limmie Draft, the Carratos Pirates select..."

Spoiler

"...Mikia Sandin, Left Half Back, Bilbringi University."

After about half a minute, no doubt spent celebrating with family and friends, Sandin, the third ranked defensive prospect in as ranked by HSN Scouting, came out. Sports writers began typing furiously. Going deep into the ranks of draftees for Sandin might be a gamble, but then again that was common on Carratos. Now everyone was going to wonder what the Pirates saw in her that made her so special. Sandin posed for holos with beings from the Pirates to celebrate this momentous event for her and the franchise.

"The Bakura Miners are now on the clock," Lokensgaard said when the new Pirate left the stage to begin fielding questions from reporters that were waiting to talk to her.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422 (who asked me to post for him) and Me for the next pick!

 

IC: May Trieste
Tunross residence, Salis D’aar, Bakura
One week after conclusion of the Galactic Cup Final

​

Dr. May Trieste rang the doorbell and waited on the steps. It was a nice urban-suburban blend neighborhood in the eastern environs of Salis D’aar. Two story walk up with a small yard in the rear, she imagined. Away from the hubbub of the commercial district of the metropolis, but close enough to the mass transit that served it to make life easy for those who lived here. The schools were probably good and the neighborhood safe. To the south from here was where the Trieste’s capital residence was, southeast Salis D’aar, in the more affluent enclave of the city frequented by Senators and captains of industry. May had been there a few times. Its seven floors, designed to hold large numbers of the family all at once, were now almost all empty. Aunt Regan and Uncle Atticus were the only two who lived there now that their children were off at university. She wondered what it was like, two people knocking about more rooms than they could probably live in during a given week if they tried. The small flat she had gotten since first coming to the planet was sufficient for her needs, but she sometimes wondered if it would have been kinder to have kept living with her relatives.

Before she could think more about living arrangements, the door promptly slid open, revealing none other than head trainer and her immediate supervisor on the Miners, Dr. Han Tunross.

“May, good to see you,” he said, giving her a light, friendly hug, “Come in, how are you? Were you there?” It didn’t need to be said what this last sentence was referencing.

“No, I left the day after the Final,” May said, “I couldn’t believe it when I heard.” The injuries and the death toll were still unofficial from what the BBC was reporting, but they were high. Potentially in the hundreds of thousands. It was horrifying. “I wish I had still been on Euceron when it happened. Perhaps I could have done something in the aftermath. Treated injuries…” Her voice trailed off, mirroring the lack of words to describe such a terrible event. The truth was that May wasn’t entirely sure what she would have done if she had been there, but she knew she would have done something.

“I know, I know. I thought the same,” Han said as he closed the door behind her, “By the time any of us could have gotten here from there, there would have been nothing left to do. From what I hear, the first responders did admirably. I just keep thinking that it could have been worse. What if it had happened at the Final?”

“I think we’re all thinking that,” May said, shaking her head.

“Please, come in. Can’t have you standing in the foyer like a traveling salesman,” Han said, gesturing for May to head into the sitting room.

“Han is such a kidder,” a new voice said, heralding the arrival of another being, “I would never allow him to let a salesman past the threshold.”

“Ah, Morrie, this is May. From the Miners,” Han said, “May, this is my wife, Morrie.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Mrs. Tunross said, “Are you the one who was nominated for the award? We were so disappointed you didn’t win.”

“Well, I’m just a doctor and Loren Jul is a legend in her own right,” May said, “She deserved it so much more than me.”

“‘Just a doctor.’ Without you and Han that team would fall apart,” Morrie said as they moved into the cozy parlor that faced the street, “I mean that very literally. There would be beings with missing limbs."

“As usual you exaggerate,” Han replied, more for May’s benefit.

“So you always say. I help Han at his private practice during the offseason. I know what he does and he always downplays his work,” Morrie replied, “However, I’m sure you two need to talk about someone’s traumatic injury that I probably shouldn’t know about so I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thanks love,” Han said as his wife departed.

“She’s nice,” May said once Mrs. Tunross had left.

“Far too nice for me,” Han said self-deprecatingly, “However, meeting my wife was not the reason I asked you here. I wanted to congratulate you on a good season.”

“Thanks. Just did my job,” May said.

“If you can call being nominated for the Duchess Eldin just doing your job,” he said, “which it is not.”

“I still don’t understand how that happened,” May said.

“It’s a crazy galaxy,” Han said, “but I’m not going to make it any crazier. What I’m trying to say is I’d be crazy not to have you back on the staff. If you want it, that is.”

“I’m not sure Falene would let me leave,” May said.

“That shouldn’t be the only reason you stay.”

“It’s not, and I am staying,” May stated.

“Good. Then it’s settled,” Han said.

“Just one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s be the ones lifting that Cup this time next year.”

“Deal,” Han promised.

---

Home med facilities, Bakura Gardens, Salis D’aar, Bakura
Some months later

The season wasn’t anywhere near close to starting, but May had gravitated back towards the empty facilities at Bakura Gardens. Her position at Belden General was going well, especially now that she was no longer being distracted by limmie duties. The enmity of her coworkers (who had resented her for taking so much time to be with the team while they were stuck pulling long shifts day after day) had lessened considerably since she’d proven she was a real doctor, just as, if not more, skilled as them.

Even so, she found that she missed the Gardens with the season was over. Maybe it was growing up in a family where professional limmie was part of life and an important one at that. But she’d never felt this way growing up. Limmie had always been this thing that was a part of their lives, but it hadn’t been a part of her life. That had changed. May found her thoughts wandering back to the back corridors of the Gardens, to the long trips on the team shuttle, to the thousands of moments shared with the players and coaches over the weeks of a season. Life without these things seemed slightly more barren.

Falene knew that she shouldn’t have, but she’d even made up an excuse to visit the Miner offices one day last week. The Commissioner’s Trophy had been sitting in the lobby behind the reception desk. Given the Miners’ fast and ignominious exit from the playoffs, no one was too particularly interested in it, but May had gone over and touched it. Had it been won under less than clean circumstances? Yes...but they’d still won it. May had run her finger along it to feel the cool shining metal. She didn’t care what anyone on HSN or Coruscant said. She was going to enjoy this trophy until they had to give it back. Did she want a bigger one, one that might one day bear her name? Yes, a thousand times yes. But until then she’d take the small victories.

Tonight was not about looking back though. It was about looking forward. May had come down to the Gardens to do inventory of their medical supplies. A minor task, easily done by a droid or a subordinate, but it was easy and mindless work, a productive way to unwind after a shift at Belden. It would need to be done soon enough anyways. 279 was going to be here before they knew it.

And speaking of which, May looked up at the vidscreen up on one of the walls. It was usually tuned to the live feed from the Miners game or some other sports channel while a player was in getting medical assistance. Today, it was BBC Sports. The Elite League Draft was taking place. May figured that with all the hullabaloo about Cundertol moving up in the Draft she should at least find out who he wanted so badly.

“And here comes general manager Quinn Cundertol, the Mighty Quinn, the Smug Dragon, to make his first draft pick in two years after the Miners did not participate in the 278 Draft due to financial considerations. Aerax, do you think that hurt the Miners last season?”

“Clearly not. They were a 6-3 team, tied for tops in the League,” Aerax Skytrayn, color commentator during Miner games said, “Where this might hurt the Miners down the road is the next generation, or if they start experiencing lots of injuries. The Draft has been about the future of teams more than it has been the present--Coruscant’s one season turnaround aside. The big risk the Miners took was whether they’re going to be competitive in five years after missing on those draft picks. It’s a question that still lingers as the Miners have given up a second round pick to get the second overall pick this year. They’re going really thin on depth, much thinner than most teams. It’s a gutsy way to play limmie, not having highly touted talent to come off the bench behind you.”

“And here we go, the Miners are ready to make their highest draft pick in team history.”

The BBC picked up the live audio from the draft floor.

“With the second overall pick in the 279 Elite League Limmie Draft,” Cundertol said, pausing for effect (or so May imagined--maybe he was actually uncertain as to who to select?), “the Bakura Miners select...Kettin Hervey, Half Back, Citadel University of Anaxes.”

The Miners had gotten lucky--Carratos had been in the market for a half back and they’d gone deeper than top half back prospect Hervey who had been a Super 16 champions and lost an overtime Carnation Bowl. Now the question was what did Carratos know that Bakura did not? Only time would tell.

Hervey came out on stage to accept his new jersey from Cundertol and it looked like he was intent on showing everyone why he was the second overall pick in the Draft as he showed off his “blasters” for the draft hall--much to the delight of the assembled Miner fans.



May wondered if the choice of a defender over a forward had more to do with the way that the fourth-ranked Miner defense in 278 had been destroyed for 30+ points by Rydonni Prime’s third-ranked offense in the Solo Conference Championship Game. The fact that the Miner offense had continued to be productive with Zonka and Deenever (to the tune of second in the ELL) probably took the pressure off from making a major move offensively. All in all, May figured the Miners were drafting from a position of strength no matter what way they went, but Aerax was right. They had to think about the future and who would carry the torch when some of the old stalwarts started to fade away. Even so, the Miners boasted a pretty young and good defense, all things considered. Nelly Wizmark was its oldest piece and that was saying something, seeing as she was only going to be a nine year vet this season.

“The Mando’ade Mercs are now on the clock,” Cundertol said before stepping away from the podium with a smile as if to say, “Have fun with your two picks, Adenn Vizsla. Just remember when you do that I went before you did.”



“Well, always nice to know there’ll be something new next season,” May said now that she’d gotten a good look at one of her future patients, thinking out loud.

“You can say that again.”



May spun around to see a being step out of the shadows.

“Sorry--I think you have a bulb out over there or something. You should really put in a maintenance request for that,” the human male in his suit said, turning and pointing, “Somebody could trip or something.”

“Who are you?” May asked, casually groping for a scalpel or something else pointy she could use to defend herself against this interloper, “Team personnel only back here.”

“Would you believe me if I said I came to get my Alana Glencross trading cards signed?”

“No,” May said bluntly.

“Good, because I everything I’ve heard told me you’re smarter than that. Agent Phil Kol’sin, Surveillance, Protection, Enforcement, and Apprehension Regiment,” the man said, “Also known as S.P.E.A.R. Does that name mean anything to you?”

“It means someone really wanted to make your initials spell S.P.E.A.R.,” May said, crossing her arms.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Kol’sin said, “Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have. We usually don’t get outside of the Core worlds. Also, we’re kind of a secret organization.”

“Guess you’ve been doing your job then.”

“You could say that,” Kol’sin replied casually with the barest hint of a shrug, “but that’s not important right now. What is important is that S.P.E.A.R. needs someone with a very particular skill set and you came highly recommended by one of our operatives.”

“Sure I did. You just saw me at the ELL Awards and wanted to meet the woman with the crazy scars,” May said.

“Actually, your cousin had more to say about your xenobiology skills,” Kol’sin admitted, “She forgot to mention the...uh…” Kol’sin just made some lines with his fingers awkwardly, apparently trying to find the tactful word.

May let that pass by. “Which cousin? In case you didn’t know, I kind of have a lot,” May asked.

“We’ll get into that later,” Kol’sin said, “after we’ve talked about this.”

He set a flimsi file on one of the medical examination tables.

May read the word stamped on the cover. “Tahiti?”



May cocked an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure what to make of this shadowy man and his organization...but she wanted to know more. Perhaps it wasn’t the most responsible thing to get entwined with this…S.P.E.A.R.…but somehow May felt like an adventure.

“Tell me more,” May said cautiously.

“Let’s go somewhere more private for that,” Kol’sin said, putting an arm around May as he began walking her out of the med facility, “But first, seriously, could you talk to Alana about my trading cards? I’ve got the whole set and it’d be great if she could autograph them. They’re in near mint condition…”

TAG: Bardan_Jusik (for next picks) CPL_Macja (who graciously let me use Kol’sin) galactic-vagabond422 (for pick comments) Runjedirun (for brief Jul reference)

 

The shoes he wore were new, purchased just two days before. The suit looked a little off-color, but as long as the employer didn’t call him out for it, it wasn’t a problem. It was a problem to have to buy things like that at second-hand stores, because they always had the reject products. No, the warehouses that specialized in suits didn’t want the slightly-faded suit jackets. They only took the best. The second-hand stores took the rest and sold them cheap. Thank the Maker for them, the man thought. His slacks were nicely ironed out by the Rodian woman who ran the cleaners near his home. The tie wasn’t the best, but it would do.

“Ah, you must be the new hire,” said the woman in front of him. “Remind me of your name again.”

“Beagle, ma’am. Eddy Beagle,” he said.

“Well, Mr. Beagle, welcome to your first day as a media intern here with the Senators,” the woman said. “Do you know your responsibilities already, or should I give you the spiel?”

“My reference didn’t say anything, ma’am,” Eddy said. It was true; he didn’t know what exactly a “media intern” entailed. Would that mean he would get to write a lot? He had always loved writing; it had provided him an escape from the rigors of the galaxy. As a kid, he had written novels instead of hanging out at the mall with all the other kids. They thought he was snotty for staying indoors and not talking to them, but he was here now, wasn’t he? He bet the rest of them were working menial service jobs, cleaning dishes, serving coffee, and running office supplies around the cubicle obstacle course. He had done those things once, and they had been dreadful. He never wanted to go back.

“Very well,” the woman said. She stood up and extended her hand. “I am Lara Spinks, head of this section of the media department. You see, Mr. Beagle, we have multiple sections to this department. My section is on player content and stories. I oversee beat writers, scriptwriters for press conferences, and quite a few other jobs that involve interacting with players. I take it this is the section you would like to be working for, because advertising is over that way,” she said, jerking her thumb behind her to another door that said “Advertising and Marketing” on it.

“I’d love nothing more than to be here, ma’am,” Eddy said as sweetly as he could. He wasn’t sure if it was a great effort, but hopefully it would sway her over. Besides, she was hot; he didn’t mind being near her. The knee-cut skirt and high heels really turned him on.
“I like hearing that. Now, Mr. Beagle, I will explain your role for this year. As the low-level intern, I want you to act a bit as a researcher, part office assistant, and part beat writer.” These last few words caused Eddy’s ears to perk up; did she just say he could write? That would be fantastic! “You’re going to get coffee and office supplies for the beat writers who spend a lot of their team in their offices, or researching things on the Holo for them. You ever read beat reports?”

“Every now and then. Never saw much value in them until recently,” Eddy said, trying to save face given that he had never really liked rumor mills. Beat reports could often come in the form of rumors, and he didn’t like that. The journalism professors at National had always said to only write what you could verify. Rumors didn’t fall under that category.

“You’ll get used to them after a while,” Lara commented. “You’ll fill in some beat reports of your own, but it will be a very specialized assignment. Something only you will be covering.”

Now Eddy was really interested. He had a special assignment to cover? That’s all he had ever wanted, to have his own project. At least now he could be paid for it instead of just doing it as a hobby.

“You will have the distinction of covering the story of the team’s new third-round draft pick,” Lara explained. Eddy’s heart sank a little bit; it was a job to be sure, but the third-round pick? Not even a second-rounder? Or the first-rounder? “I want you to cover their background story, their college years, how they feel they will fit in here with the Senators, stuff like that. They probably won’t make the team this year, or maybe for a few years, so it will obviously will be different than writing for a top pick who will likely make the team out of camp. In order to get their story, I want you to spend plenty of time with the player, talking to them, but not getting overbearing. If I hear complaints from the player about your conduct around them, then you’ll be fired faster than you can say “Tauntaun”. Got it?”

“Understood,” Eddy said, swallowing hard after hearing this ultimatum.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Lara commented. “It’s a soft gig to get you started. If you do well this year, maybe you’ll get promoted for next year to the second-round pick, or maybe the first-rounder. In a few years, you could be a regular beat writer and be making decent money. But that’s not why either of us are here. We just love doing this job, writing on something we care about.”

“Exactly,” Eddy said. He had never found Limmie the most interesting, but it was going to give him a job here, so he was going to believe whatever his employers said if that meant he could stick with this job rather than being forced to look elsewhere. This looked like his big in despite some misgivings, and he didn’t want to blow his chances.

“Now, Mr. Beagle, I’m going to turn you over to Viktor, one of our longest-tenured employees. He’ll show you around the office.” She motioned to a tough-looking Barabel, and Eddy gulped again. This man didn’t look like he would take jokes lightly. Given that he liked to crack jokes, Eddy felt extremely paranoid all of a sudden.

“Follow me,” Viktor said in a gruff tone.

“Oh, and Mr. Beagle,” Lara said, stopping both Eddy and Viktor. “If you have any questions about the job, I expect you to ask Viktor now, because things are going to get more hectic for you starting tomorrow.” She then disappeared into her office, the largest one in the space, and Eddy turned back to Viktor.

“This is the main room,” Viktor said as they walked. It was filled with cubicles, not unlike the places Eddy had worked in previously as an assistant. He hated cubicles; they felt so unpersonal. Half-walls were only slightly better than actual support walls, and only because they could be moved “accidentally” to give you more space if you ever felt squeezed. Viktor led him down the main aisle, and Eddy looked at all the beings sitting at work. They were typing on their Holo monitors, or reading something on a datapad.

“Dru, stop thinking about the office shock-ball bracket pool, and do your work,” Viktor said gruffly to a Torgutan male.

“I’m gonna whip you in it this year, Vik,” the man said.

“Like hell,” the Barabel said dismissively before continuing on. Finally they reached the end of the row of cubicles, which ended in a row of offices.

“Do I get an office?” Eddy asked. Then he immediately wished he hadn’t asked.

Viktor just laughed, and the deep tone of it unnerved Eddy a little. It sounded like something he didn’t want to witness in a dark alley at night. “Office? You wish. You get this space,” he said, motioning to a small slit space that looked about three meters long and three meters wide. It was just barely enough space to get a Holo terminal, desk, and chair into. The cubicles that he hated so much were starting to look more inviting by the moment. “Settle in, and then get to work,” Viktor said. “Any questions?”

“When’s lunch?” Eddy asked optimistically.

“Whenever you find time,” Viktor said with a toothy grin that had a very unnerving sense to it. “Anything else?”

“Nope, I think I can handle things from here,” Eddy said, and he retreated into the tiny “office” that he had been given. He had to shimmy in to make sure he got to the chair. When he turned the Holo monitor on, he found that it was older than many of the machines in use at National. He silently cursed his poor luck as he sat back in his chair. Or at least as far back as it would go, because there was barely enough space for the chair with a straight back to go. Well, if nothing else, he figured, it would keep him sitting upright all the time. Sighing, he started to get his thoughts in order. Even though the office sucked, at least he had finally made it.

And he silently wondered who this player he was going to cover was going to be. Only time would tell on that; there was a week to go until the Draft.

And now he was Eddy Beagle, Media Intern. Cramped Media Intern.

TAG: No One

---

GM Approved

Name: Eddy Beagle
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 252
Homeworld: Denon
Relation to Team: Media Intern

Image:

Brief Biography: Eddy grew up as a writer. He always loved to write essays instead of taking tests in school, as he had a natural knack for the skill. In high school, he was a staff member of the school publication for four years, including being the editor-in-chief for two years. However, he was always told that journalism was a dying art, and that he was better off going into the sciences. Not to be deterred, Eddy attended the University of Denon for a year, but then decided that journalism, not biology, was the way to go in college. So he left the University and transferred his sophomore year to National University on Coruscant, renowned for its journalism programs.

After three years at National, including being an intern for the athletics department for two years, he graduated with a degree in journalism and media sciences. Trying to find a job was disastrous, because his snotty attitude and somewhat-questionable work ethic outside of school turned potential employers off. He was able to cobble together a year of work in odd jobs, including washing dishes and selling insurance as an assistant, finally able to go to graduate school at National.


Within two years, he graduated with a Masters’ degree, and was one again on the hunt for a job. He was able to snag a position with a smaller publication on Coruscant, but he realized that it wasn’t for him after about two months. His boss, seeing potential that was being wasted in this line of work, referred Eddy to a friend who knew connections in the media market. This friend got Eddy hooked up with the internship program at the Coruscant News Network, one of the major media markets on the planet. He interned there for a year before the same reference, with some prodding from Eddy, was able to land the young professional a job with the Coruscant Senators media department. He is just beginning this new job, and only time will tell if he can climb the ranks, or find himself kicked to the curb.

 

​

IC: Ty Allin

Being the sole team captain meant going to too many meetings during the off season. First there was the incident with Hovechar and now I was listening to mumbo jumbo about the team’s finances.

Euceron had put all their draft picks up for auction after the terrible tragedy that had taken the lives of nearly every one of their team members not to mention hundreds of thousands of citizens. Richard felt like the Starkillers had funds to blow. His father had a reserve of cash set aside to spend on the construction of the stadium. After his father’s death Financial Square Bank had put up the funding for the stadium in exchange for full naming rights.

“The picks will become overpriced too quickly,” Mrs. Vigo cautioned. “Your father would not have put up the amount of funds we are talking unless it was a situation where he felt certain the investment was solid. Just a few weeks ago we sat in this very room and Coach Till told us all that the team was in good shape for the upcoming season. Just who do you think is going to be available late in the first round who is worth so many credits?”

“We weren’t out a midfielder when we had that conversation,” Richard reminded her. “This is more than just a replacement for Hovechar though, it’s an investment in our future. We can snag a couple of players by bidding for the 2nd and 3rd round picks. Send those players to Tatooine develop them there. Bring them up as needed…”

“Wait a minute,” I interjected. “Hovechar is being replaced?”

“Not on my watch,” Trey said turning to face Richard. “Madelyne,” he continued as he spun his head in the other direction. “I didn’t want to trade current stock for new talent, but if you think you can afford one of those picks we should consider it.”

“Your father wanted you to have this team Richard,” Mrs. Vigo stated looking in his direction. “If you decide to bid on these picks and if you secure one you had better secure a player who wins this team a cup.”

After that Mrs. Vigo stood up and left. Richard paid his mother’s threats no mind. He was on the line with Euceron moments later making bids for all six picks.

Tag: jcgoble3

 

IC: Tim Dodd
'ASF Island' - Bil Da'Gari, Agamar

During Fourth-Quarter of the 278 ABY Galactic Cup Final.

But for the fact the 'windows' were repeater-screens fed with actual views from the surface, it was a typical ASF Squad Common-Room. This, along with twenty comfortable Bunkrooms, a Kitchen-cum-Cafeteria, Project Control Room, Offices, Conference Room, Library, Armoury, Stores, a comprehensively-equipped Engineering Workshop and the normal services (for which read 'Refreshers') occupied the uppermost - 'Habitation' - level of the underground base.

Here, the 'Up' Turbolifts (a pair of them connecting with the surface) were located directly across from the single 'Down' Turbolift (terminating on the Operations level) to impose delay on anyone, or anything, attempting to ascend/descend without clearance and to provide a modicum of defensibility; although there were no fully armoured walls on this level, just wood-clad Durasteel or plain Transparisteel. Set at ninety degrees to the Turbolifts, hatches provided access to the 'Utilities' level below via spiral rampways.

Right now, the Squad Common-Room was being used as a temporary Briefing Room, where three civilians, two members of Senior ASF 'Brass' and twenty ASF Officers, (all of whom had been hand-picked from a pool of volunteers, mostly from the Tactical Assault Unit, willing to undertake 'Extremely Hazardous and Classified Missions') could assemble without undue crowding.

While the Holovision set was indeed on, it wasn't showing a Limmie Match in progress, not even the Galactic Cup Final. Instead, it was showing a house in one of the nicer residential areas of Calna Muun. A dwelling most here would recognise, either through having stormed it on one memorable night some time ago or through having guarded it during a seemingly interminable investigation by a team of Jedi in more recent times. It had no name or occupant now, but it had previously been commonly known as 'Lawyer Atkin's House'.

Precisely on the dot of the Full-Time signal at Euceron Stadium (with the final scores standing at: Rydonni Prime Monarchs 12; Nar Shaddaa Smugglers 25), intense white light shone through all the house's windows. Within a fraction of a second, the light (if anyone had been filming the event with a high-speed camera) would be seen to be 'eating' its way through the walls themselves!

What First Responders would discover on arrival, and the morbidly curious would note come daylight, was a perfectly hemispherical hole in the ground where the infamous 'I scream clone' had once laired - the signature of a large Thermal Detonator! Of the house, and its rumoured secrets, nothing at all remained.

Tim Dodd broke the silence with; "So it's done! The house, as anyone who cares to look can testify, is totally destroyed; thereby honouring our pledges to the Jedi, Republic and Elite League - in a manner of speaking; as the documentation was carefully worded to specifically mention only the house itself! Now we let the dust settle, complete our safety precautions on the Operations level and let you Gentlebeings get properly settled in. Then the real work can begin!".


TAG: No One.

 

HSN Euceron Headlines and Rumor Mill

• Source discloses that bidding activity has slowed significantly as teams carefully consider further bids
• Total of current high bids for all six picks is 33.75 million, according to source; "approximately 20 million" of that covers the two first round picks
• Source declines to give exact bid figures, saying that it could lead to her identification and firing
• General Manager Aebatt Zargana announces complete lockdown of all information regarding bidding: "Wilrax and I will handle this process on our own, and no one else will have access to bid information from this point forward. That ought to put an end to these leaks."
• Taru Racette of HSN Euceron speculates that current bid for #7 pick is likely in the vicinity of "11 to 12 million" and that the third-rounders are probably going for "around a couple million each"
• Taru reports that the Senators are "out of the bidding process", according to a source within the Senators organization; Cedkin Terron comments that "given the current bid amounts, several teams, chief among them the Miners and Mercs, have probably been priced out of the market for the higher picks, if not the lower ones as well."

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

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Deputy Commissioner and ELL General Counsel Esther Gondorf announces that renegotiations of current collective bargaining agreement with ELL players union has been completed
• Gondorf: "This was necessitated by the addition of the addition of two games to the ELL schedule. Salary adjustments were required."
• League minimum salary comes up to 600,000 credits
• Draftee minimum salary rises to 1.15 million credits
• Players on contracts signed prior to 278 to receive a 20% pay increase
• Rep for players union: "Owners are making more credits. Players are going to as well under this new agreement."
• When asked about impact of this on Euceron Storm being able to field a team, Gondorf says, "It's an unfortunate reality that these events have coincided," and declined to make further comment
• Mercs interested in signing free agent CB Christine Gamble, formerly of the Coruscant Senators. Other teams reportedly interested are Nar Shaddaa and Carratos
• Gamble: "I just want to go where I feel I can be the most successful"
• Anonymous Senator insider says that the organization has reached out to Gamble, is "trying to find common ground" with her on a new deal
• Ralltiir and Bakura announce that they will play for the Golden Orange Bowl in all future meetings
• Miners statement: “The Starkillers have become a class organization in a very short time and we’ve had a part in that--ending their winning streak in 277, for example. It was a no brainer to add to the already high stakes surrounding this game”
• Bak10 Conference reportedly considering proposal to expand to at least 10 game season to include non-conference matchups. Source: "11 and 12 game seasons are on the table"

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

 

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IC: The Rancor Pitt show.

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! On location from the the Oyu'baat cafe, on a starry and cool evening. It's a special draft night edition of the Rancor Pitt. I'm Randy the Rancor, he's Justin Pitt. Liz Baker on the boards, with Kitterich back at the studio and oh baby do we have an exciting draft night show for you!"

"OYA,OYA,OYA." The patrons of Manadlore's oldest establishment interrupted the broadcast with the traditional chant.

"Going to be hearing a lot of that before this night is done I think Justin. But before we do we have a lot of ground to cover tonight."

"It's an exciting night, not just for our fans but for fans around the league."

"A good draft night can really turn a team around, just look at what happened to the Senators after last year's draft."

"And it's not just the team and the fans Randy, we have the players too. This is the beginning, the launching pad if you will, for these young players into their professional limmie careers. It's an amazing night and we wish all the players the best."

"Well, unless they get drafted by the Smugglers."

"OYA,OYA,OYA!!!!"

"I think you excited them with that one Rancor."

"Heh, we were all thinking it."

"OYA,OYA,OYA!"

"OK, OK, it's an exciting night, and as always a dramatic night, and of course this year's draft isn't without its own new twist that no one saw coming."

"ugh, do we have to talk about this? Such a downer..."

"Not going to go into the whys and whatnots here, we all know the terrible tragedy that happened back on Euceron after the finals. Going to leave politics and serious topics out of this, but, but, there is a huge impact that it has on draft night...tonight, and that is the Storm's auctioning off their picks to the highest bidder."

"It's a great move on their part. Kind of surprised it hadn't been done before."

"Yeah, you would have thought the Smug Dragon would have thought about this last season instead of just pulling out of the draft entirely."

"Well, he didn't and the Storm are going to make history with it, and a whole shebs load of cash."

"How do you see it affecting not only the draft, but the Merc's draft Justin?"

"Well it gives some teams a chance to buy their way back into the draft. The Starkillers got fleeced last season by Vizsla..."

"Well that trade could have gone either way, who knew the Starkillers would have an off year?"

"...and have the cash to really put themselves back into the thick of this draft. Likewise the Monarchs need picks and could buy their way in. It really changes the entire dynamic of draft night."

"Yeah, yeah not going to argue with any of that. I would have thought the Senators with their market could afford to grab at least one of the first rounders too, but scuttlebutt says they aren't much of a player in this."

"Don't listen to rumors Randy, the Senators have the will and the cash. I bet they get in on this and when the dust settles they have an extra pick or two in their pocket."

"And the Mercs? Lets face it, that's who we and our listeners care about."

"I don't know Randy. Gone are the days when Taab...the Mand'alor, would go all in on any way to better the team. We're a smaller market..."

"BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"...and while the fanbase is great, the best in the league really..."

"OYA,OYA,OYA!!!!"

"...I just don't the team having the resources to go out and grab more than one pick. Even if they do, it will be a lesser one, probably in the third round. And even that might be a stretch."

"Well I'm confident that if anyone can pull it off it's Vizsla. He got hosed last year, the Grames Award should have been his."

"That Starkiller trade should really come to fruition this season Randy, look for him to garner some votes after this season."

"Yeah, and that's what we are looking at here tonight. The 279 season, and the draft."

"OYA, OYA, OYA!!!!!"

"What do you think and who do ya like Justin?"

"You know me Randy, I was a DB back in college and professionally."

"So defense."

"Yeah, of course defense. Look, I know the Mercs were in the middle of the pack in both offensive and defensive catagories last season, but this draft is loaded, loaded with defensive players who could make an impact right away."

"Helmsman trophy went to a cornerback this past season"

"And that's exactly who I'm talking about. Mauntak out of Druckenwell Tech is a beast. He has the size, speed and power to be an all-star player right now Randy. And the attitude, the kid has a mean streak a kilometer across."

"We saw that in our interview of him right after he won the award."

"Ha, he laid into you and carved you up like shriek-hawk with a field mouse. That was hilarious."

"I..... well....yeah it kinda was."

"Anyway, this kid is the cream of the draft I think, especially for a team looking for help at corner."

"Rumors are that he will be the number one pick, going to the Pirates."

"Yeah, I know. But one thing we know about Vizsla is that he isn't afraid to go all in and take a risk. Sitting at #3 and #4 overall the Mercs have more than enough firepower to go out and get a deal done."

"Bringing in the best player in the draft isn't exactly a risk there Justin"

"I know, which makes it even harder to fathom why it hasn't happened yet."

"Well, from what I've heard, and my sources might not be as in tune with the front office as yours, is that the Mercs are happy with where they're at and will take the best available on the board at two and three. Excuse me, at three and four. The Miners have number two, keep forgetting about them."

"They're going Hervey, the halfback out of the Citadel. Book it."

"Well, that's the rumor, but getting back to Mauntak and the Pirate's first pick. Maybe the Pirates do want him and maybe the Mercs aren't as high on him as you think."

"Oh they're high on him, he just fits too well on this team. I think Vizsla is playing this too cute by far and hoping, just hoping that his CB falls to him."

"OK, OK. Say you're right, that the Mercs want him but can't work a trade and he is unavailable. Who then?"

"Connor. The "Terminator" is just the kind of goaltender you want to play in front of if you're a defender. Her play allows other's to take a risk and be more proactive out there. She is..."

"Yeah, but I've been hearing that Thorn is healing up faster than the Mercs thought he would. He might, might, be ready by the start of the season."

"Connor and he have a similar playing style. If and it's a big if, he's ready then they don't need her, but I think she is too good to pass up. If not at three then at least by four. She might not last until the second round."

"All right. So.... no offense. There are no forwards you like?"

"Kind of an off year for the half forwards if you want my opinion Randy. Some good full forwards, and even corner forwards, but if I were the GM my focus would be on the defense."

"OK, OK. Fair enough. You want to know what I think?"

"You're going to tell me anyway no matter what I say."

I think...well you're right, I will. I think the Mercs go offense."

"Just to cheese me off?"

"HA! No I think they won't be able to help themselves. Look, we have a GM who was an offensive minded coach, we have a new head coach who was an all-star forward herself. They love offense Justin, they love it. They won't be able to keep themselves from taking at east one offenseive player with their first two picks. They might even go with two forwards if both Mauntak and Connor are gone."

"I told you, the Miners are going with Hervey"

"OK, OK. Say they do. General consensus is that the Pirates will take Mauntak and so that leaves us with..."

"Hold on Randy, the pick is in."

"OYA, OYA, OYA!!!!"

"With the first overall pick in the 279 Elite League Limmie Draft, the Carratos Pirates select... Mikia Sandin, Left Half Back, Bilbringi University."

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Wow, oh wow. OK, Carratos with a stunner selecting Sandin."

"Really thought Hervey would be the first HB off the board there Randy"

"We all thought they would go defense, and they did. But the smart money was on them selecting the Helmsman trophy winner."

"Well if you're a gambler then you lost that bet."

"Speaking of gambles, this a big one for the second year ELL squad."

"Not as much as you'ed think Rancor. Sandin is good, I had her going late first round in my mock draft. So if she is the player the Pirates really wanted then it made sense to grab her."

"But if they could have traded down and still gotten her..."

"Yeah. Yeah it makes the non trade with the Mercs make even less sense now, but who knows? They had her highly rated and they got their girl. If drafts of the past tell us anything, that's the most important thing. Ensure you get who you want."

"OK. OK. Now how does this affect the Mercs and Miners who are now on the clock?"

"The Miners? Not at all. Like I've been saying for weeks, Cundertol traded up, gave away a lot of assets, to make sure he got his player. That's going to be Hervey. Even if they had Mauntak, or someone else rated higher, they're going to stick to their gameplan and take their guy."

"Hervey."

"That's what my sources say."

"The same ones that had Mauntak going number one over all."

"Yeah...those."

"HA!"

"No time to gloat Randy, the next pick is in."

"OYA, OYA,OYA!!!!!"

“With the second overall pick in the 279 Elite League Limmie Draft,” there was a long pause and the listeners could tell both Rancor and Pitt were holding their breath. “The Bakura Miners select...Kettin Hervey, Half Back, Citadel University of Anaxes.”

There was a loud cheer that went up in the oyu'baat now that could be heard across the sector thanks to the show.

"I told you, I told you!"

“The Mando’ade Mercs are now on the clock, Have fun with your two picks, Adenn Vizsla. Just remember when you do that I went before you did.”

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"So smug, such a shabuir"

"Well he earns his nickname, no doubt about that."

"WE WANT MAUNTAK!" the crowd at the Cafe erupted, followed by the banging of armored plates. "WE WANT MAUNTAK!"

"Well that brings us right to it. Do the Mercs now select Mauntak with the third pick in the draft? Do they get their man?

"I think so, I mean. They've been talking with Gamble (Go Bucks) about bringing her in at corner. But let's face it, no one really thinks she is going anywhere. Taking Mauntak would ensure that they Mercs aren't left hanging high and dry at that position. Then they can take Connor at four and have their defense set for years to come."

"Could they wait and take maybe I don't know Connor and then go offense. Hope that maybe Meeks makes it to the second round?"

"Hope on Meeks (Go Bucks) because you assume Montauk..."

"Yeah, assume he doesn't make it to the second round and then hope that Meeks does."

"Meeks (Go Bucks) is good, but he is no Tuvaash Mauntak. If they want a cornerback, the time to take him is now."

"WE WANT MAUNTAK!"

"Well..."

"WE WANT MAUNTAK!"

"hahaha."

"WE WANT MAUNTAK!"

"The fans here have..."

"WE WANT MAUNTAK!"

"Spoken... and here comes the pick."

"WE WANT MAUNTAK!"

The voice of Mercs General Manager Adenn Vizsla could be heard now. "With the third overall selection in the 279 ELL first year player draft, the Mando'ade Mercs select Tuvaash Mauntak, Corner Back, Druckenwell Technical University."

"OOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Erupted simultaneously from the Mercs fans at both the oyu'baat and in the draft hall. For a moment nothing else but their screams could be heard over the staion's hyper-radio waves. Then the sound of a high five between the two hosts.

"Well, we got him. I'm not sure how but we got him."

"Tell our listeners just who it was that we got and why we're all so excited Justin."

There was the sound of Justin clearing his throat before he went on. "Like I said in our open, Tuvaash Mauntak is a beast. He can do it all Randy. He started the season kind of slow and wasn't on many team's "big boards" as a high end prospect, but as the season wore on he just kept up racking up tackle after tackle. Honestly, there was a lot more hype about Meeks (Go Bucks) coming into this draft because... well probably due to name recognition with his sister already playing in the League and because of where he went to school."

"Had to throw that in there didn't ya?"

"But as scouts looked at things, and as the Helsman trophy voters looked at things, they all saw that Mauntak is a transformative, is that even a word? Player. Just his being on the field will make the Mercs defense that much better. Size, speed, attitude. They called him "the headhunter" at DTU, and for good reason and the Mercs fans are going to love that, and him"

"OYA,OYA,OYA!!!"

"...this guy is like a younger, faster, Killer K'Karlsson, and we all know how the Mercs faithful feel about him."

"OYA,OYA,OYA!!!"

"The stalwart on their defense"

"Well now the Mercs have another one, and the things Montauk can learn from a seasoned pro like Killer... Just wow."

"Well that's a part of it too. Do you expect Mauntak to start right away?"

"That's a good question and one that first year coach Ryi Kor'le is going to have to find an answer to really quickly. Does he have the ability? No doubt. But it's a steep learning curve going from the college game to pro sports."

"You know that personally."

"Yeah. Yeah I do, and that was just the PLL. This is the Elite Limmie League, and that's a whole new bolo match." He took a deep breath and paused. "I think he can start, I think he should start. But will he start is going to be the big question going into training camp."

Another big question is who the Mercs will take with their next pick. Vizsla took a seat after his announcement of Mauntak..."

"WE GOT MAUNTAK!!!"

"...to allow for other teams to work the comms, maybe the Mercs have some trades in the works. They got their guy, which as you say Justin, is the name of the game."

"It is."

"So chances that they go ahead and trade out of this pick, number four overall, in an attempt to do essentially what they did last season, and stockpile picks for next year?"

"Anything's possible Randy, but I don't see it. They got their man and are playing with house money now. They could trade, but the chances of having this opportunity again, back to back picks early on in the first round, is not something likely to happen for them again soon if they trade out of it. My guess is that they keep the pick and take Connor. They might pull some trades later on in the draft, but not yet."

"OK, OK. I agree with you on not trading this pick. I just don't see how they could improve on this either. But I am thinking offense. Take a forward, we could use a half forward for depth on the bench."

"This is down year for half forwards".

"Yeah, but if you're playing with house money as you say, there is no downside to it."

"You can probably pick one up in a later round Rancor."

"But you don't need to, just take one now and be done with it. Make sure you get the one you like the best"

"They all seem to be pretty interchangeable to me. If we're going to do that they might as well trade down and take one later."

"What happened to making sure you get your guy?"

"That..."

"OYA,OYA,OYA!!!"

"Ha! Saved by the bell as Vizsla again takes the stage to announce the Mercs next pick."

"Thank goodness."

"Ha!!"

"It's going to be Connor."

"With the fourth pick in the 279 ELL first year player draft, the Mando'ade Mercs select Vera Langdon Full Forward from Vertical City University.

"What?!?"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Oh wow. Oh wow, wow wow."

"What!?!"

"I told you they would go offense. Vizsla and Kor'le just couldn't help themselves."

"What?!?"

"The Agamar Packers are now on the clock."

"...and they took the highest rated forward in the draft."

"But they don't need a full forward, they have Johnnie Limmie at that spot"

"Johnny Clipboard you mean."

"Rancor," Pitt adopted a serious tone now. "That ain't cool. I guess this means that they won't be bringing Naughten back either."

"Ah, who cares? The guy was a bum. A backup that wanted starter money."

"Man wanted to get paid, nothing wrong with that."

"What does this mean for your boy Johnnie Clip..."

"Hey!"

"...Limmie?"

"Thank you."

"Is he back in the starting rotation now, or does Langdon take over?"

"I don't know. I mean she was highly rated, highly rated, coming out of good program at VCU."

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"But she can't possibly be ready to start just yet. But you can't go back to the locker room the way things were last season. That's a situation hard enough on a veteran coach, but Kor'le hasn't coached anywhere. This could be a disaster in the making."

"Well, unless they plan on trading Lieznam, she must feel she can handle it. I mean she had to have some input on the pick here."

"They won't trade Lieznam. Maybe she just doesn't know what she is walking into, or maybe she is arrogant enough to think it won't be a problem."

"Could be that she had no input. It is her first year, maybe Vizsla is calling all the shots and didn't consult her."

"Could be... I just. I don't know."

"Sources didn't prepare you for this now did they?" There was a slight chuckle from the Zabrak at that.

"No, no they didn't"

"Well there you have it. The Mercs first two picks of the draft and they ended up with the highest rated offensive and defensive players as rated by HSN. One of them the Helmsman Trophy winner, and the other a graduate from VCU..."

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Oh I didn't even think of that. She's coming in from Nar Shaddaa. Oh boy..."

"We're going to go to break, and when we come back we'll have the Packers pick and more analysis of the draft, so stay right here on the Fandalorian!"

"OYA, OYA, OYA!!!!!

TAG: Tim Battershell