Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

GM post

I guess we'll see how everything shakes out with this last game of the season! (Even if Jay didn't know it until now. ) Bonus potential for Bakura and Carratos while everyone else trusts in the trickster limmie gods.

Week 7
Kothlis Spies at Corellia Rebels (27-0)
Geonosis Gangbusters at Nar Shaddaa Smugglers (8-29)
Kashyyyk Rangers at Bakura Miners (9-17)
Carratos Pirates at Mando’ade Mercs (22-4)

Final standings

1. Carratos Pirates [@galactic-vagabond422, Jay Chu-ni (player)](5-2)
2. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers [@Vehn, Lars Steelhead (owner)] (5-2)
3. Kothlis Spies (5-2)
4. Geonosis Gangbusters (4-3)
5. Bakura Miners [@Trieste, Harle Quinn (player)] (3-4)
6. Mando'ade Mercs (3-4) [ @Bardan_Jusik, Randy "the rancor"/Justin Pitt (sportscasters)]
7. Corellia Rebels (2-5)
8. Kashyyyk Rangers (1-6)

ELL standings statements

• Carratos Pirates win Commissioner's Trophy on the strength of 2-0 record inside Carratos-Nar Shaddaa-Kothlis tiebreak.
• Nar Shaddaa receives #2 seed and home game based on 1-1 record in tiebreak, while Kothlis went 0-2 in tiebreak.
• Bakura Miners finish in fifth due to Week 5 win against Mando'ade.

Galactic Cup Playoffs
Semifinals
(4) Geonosis Gangbusters at (1) Carratos Pirates
(3) Kothlis Spies at (2) Nar Shaddaa Smugglers

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @galactic-vagabond422 @The Jedi in the Pumas @Vehn

 

IC: Harle Quinn
Bakura Gardens, Salis D’aar, Bakura

One could argue that Truce Day was peak hype limmie. It often wasn’t a marquee matchup and its end-of-season position meant that one or both teams involved could be out of the playoff hunt. It was mainly famous (and even then locally more than anything) because of the way the team marketed it. The fireworks were sometimes only after the game, not on the field. In short, it capitalized on patriotism more than anything else—even though most of the players on the field weren’t born on Bakura.

But Harle had been born on Bakura. And damn it if her heart didn’t swell on Truce Day.

So when Brie Veers put the Bakuran flag into her hands for her to lead the team onto the field in a Truce Day tradition, it meant something. She’d done it before and she’d had all the feels then. But this time was different. It wasn’t because it showed her teammates believed in what she was doing off the field in her other kind of run.

This time, as Harle led the team into the afternoon light, she was running towards something. Something beyond what was on the field, beyond points and goals and wins and championships.

She was running towards the future.

And when she’d survived the smothering defense of Wookiees and the swift counterattack of Trandoshans, when the Miners had won, it didn’t matter that later she would learn that the Miners were the first team out of the playoffs, that the game against Geonosis was the one that would have swung things, that Harle’s missed penalty kick had been the difference between playoffs and an early offseason.

What mattered was that Pam—looking “fly as Solo,” as Harle put it before she kissed her wife—held her hand on the field and they looked up at the stands, full of neon pink QUINN ’04 signs and echoing with “LET’S GO HAR-LE!”

Yes, she lived on a planet where 9 out of 10 beings were Human. Even among the remaining 10%, there weren’t that many beings here that looked like her.

But as the fireworks went off, Harle thought maybe beings would think she looked like a Bakuran.

---

Gesco City, Bakura

As they waited for the election results, Harle shook the hand of every staffer and volunteer who’d been part of her campaign.

“Thank you so much for believin’ in me,” Harle said.

“Thank you for making us believe we can do big things,” Rocket Richaud said. She’d hoofed it up and down the streets of Gesco City after her factory shifts for weeks.

“Thank you for everything,” Harle said as she shook Sadie Howlett’s hand.

When everyone had been thanked, there was nothing left for Harle to do except go up to the hotel room the campaign had booked for her and Pam until the Federal Election Commission made the call. They sat on the edge of the bed, their hands interlocked.

“I’m so proud of you,” Pam said, putting her head against Harle’s shoulder. “No matter what, no one’s ever going to forget what you did.”

“I’ve played enough limmie to know it’s not over until the horn sounds,” Harle fretted. “If I blow it at the goal box—”

“I’ll still love you,” Pam finished gently. She kissed Harle on the cheek.

“You know I’m gonna be in Salis D’aar a lot if I win. We’re gonna have to work on our relationship and stuff,” Harle said.

“I’m sure beings in Salis D’aar need flowers too.”

“You’d live with me there when the Senate is in session?”

“Home is where you are, hot stuff,” Pam told her.

“When you talk like that all I wanna do is—”

“And we’re getting word that the FEC has certified the results for North Gesco City,” the BBC anchor said.

All thoughts of romance were suspended as the pair leaned towards the vidscreen.

“For the district of North Gesco City…” Niall Kirt began.

“Come on, come on…” Harle whispered.

“…the Federal Election Committee certifies…”

---

Spoiler

“…your next senator for North Gesco City, Harle Quinn!”

Harle had to restrain herself from sprinting onto the stage in her excitement as the packed hotel ballroom cheered for her.

She’d crushed Janchin, a sitting senator who had all the advantages of an incumbent, by 50 points. Even though there were lots of races left to call (some even still had polls open), Harle was going to have one of the largest victories of the election. It was a heck of a way to win your first race.

Harle was only the third xenobeing elected to the Bakuran Senate since the rebuilding of Bakura and the election of 220 and the fourth non-Human or non-Kurtzen ever elected to the office. Not bad for someone whose parents had moved to a world on the edge of the galaxy with a hope they could build a better life, who one day had a kid who played with a ball for a living.

“My fellow Gescoans, we did it!” Harle exclaimed into the mic.

Harle might be sitting out this postseason. It might be months until the next limmie game. But this was no offseason.

Harle Quinn, senator-elect, had work to do.

The end…of 304

TAG: None, but best of luck to our player playoff teams

 

BBC headlines

• Miners announce they will not renew the contracts of Jammin Coryn and Jerrin Davies.
• Jimsey Vigo signs a three-year contract to stay with the Miners to take him to the decade mark with the team.
• Miners sign Astra Sixtrees to a two-year contract and announce she will start at corner forward opposite McLita.
  • Sixtrees will be the first Kurtzen to start an ELL game in almost a century.
  • Federated Kurtzen tribes of Bakura praise the announcement: "Our people has a long history of limmie excellence. This move by the Miners will inspire a generation of athletes to dream."
• Angel Sorano, the second-oldest player on the team, will assume full forward duties.
• Miners GM Shay Dionne says that finding a new center half back is the top priority for the Miners coaching staff.
  • "We're not at an advantage compared to playoff teams. Everyone's matured their scouting teams into year-round operations. If anything, we're at a disadvantage because we can't court college recruits with tickets to playoff games."
  • Dionne remains confident the Miners will get "top tier" defensive talent.
  • Dionne also responds to criticism that lineup changes will not cut deeper: "We finished one game off from making the playoffs. We need tweaks, not a new engine."

TAG: None

 

Jay Chu-ni
Carratos

"...Hey Mech you got a sec,"

"Sure, but just a moment, I have to get back to practice."

"Oh, well I ah, I think I just need to talk for a bit." She sat heavy on the couch letting out a sigh. "I forgot something really important, that this week was the last game, and then I think I hurt Kin, so it's been a day for me."

"Uh huh."

"So I'm just wondering if I'm just a disaster or did everything just hit at once?"

"I don't know, feels like stuff happened."

"Yeah but it all hit at once, and I'm just wondering if I set this all up and then it just came due."

"Got no clue, not like I keep up with your life. I'm busy."

"I mean yeah I get that. But, I think I could have seen this coming. And looking at it I feel like I kind of sleepwalked into this. But, I can't quite say for certain."

"Uh huh, well, that kinda sucks."

"I know right, I just trying to figure out what to do to make this better."

"I don't know, buy something? With all that money you have…"

"I don't have that much…I send most of it to you and mom and dad."

"And I've been hearing your praises ever since. How wonderful for you."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well so was I, but now…I got other things to do. I can't always be about you."

"I wasn't trying to…"

"Ever since you left that's all mom and dad can talk about, how great and wonderful you are. Though I should be used to it."

"Mech…"

"I have to go, got things to do."

"Mech…"

The line went dead, and now she felt all alone. Was this her fault? Had she pushed them all away? Well, the thing with Kin was just…poor timing, Mech, what was happening. And the bad day was getting worse. She felt torn open and all she wanted was hot chips. The one thing she was denied since she joined the Pirates, and now it was the only thing she wanted.

Everything else had gone wrong, why not this too. At least this time it wouldn't be a surprise. Or maybe she just needed comfort and wasn't getting it from her usual sources. She laid back on the couch staring up at the ceiling, her heart hurting with each beat. This sucked and there was an important game coming up and everything had just gone so wrong.

Her thoughts were consumed with the salty crunchy tubers that had been denied to her for months now. The warm feeling of those fired tubers in her hand, the smell of hot oil, it was a siren call and she was trying, really trying to resist but she couldn't help feeling that need to fill the emptiness inside.

Eventually she couldn't take it any more and just burst out of her apartment hopping up and down to get into her shoes. Rushing out of the building she knew exactly which way to go, she'd been looking at this place longingly many days on her way to practice. Soon she smelled the salt and her paced picked up. She couldn't help her feet moving quicker and quicker. She got to the chip shop and didn't even stop to think about it.

"Hi yes I would like large chips please…" She asked once locking eyes with the being behind the counter.

"Anything else?"

"No, just chips." Jay paid and waiting almost impatiently for the chips to get fired, and salted.

"Hey, um do I know you from somewhere?" The cashier asked.

"Uh, well maybe." she didn't want to admit it didn't want to say where she might be recognized from. Mostly because she couldn't get over the shame that was rising up in her. She shouldn't be here but she needed this.

"Humm…" The other being narrowed their eyes trying to think about it, Jay just looked away. "Not sure…." It was a few moments later when the chips were done and put into her hands. Right away the warmth went straight to her heart, yes this was what she wanted.

She doesn't even remember walking back home, it felt like she just teleported there and started ripping into the chips the second the salt hit her tongue she couldn't stop her eyes from closing, and hum leaving her chest. It had been so so long.

Tears started falling from her eyes. It was just so good. But, she couldn't deny the pain in her chest, a storm of shame and confusion as she just ate and ate enjoying every bite.

She didn't know if things would be ok, but for now…she was ok…maybe.

TAG: No noe

 

IC: Lars Steelhead
Six Boroughs Stadium

Lars downed another shot of hard liquor and swerved to the music as the speakers blared the number one hit on Nar Shaddaa, the heavy metal version of the famous Coruscanti hit single, Kissed by a Wookiee.

His towering frame, slightly drunk, awkwardly danced to the music as he celebrated the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers playoff game that was due to kick off in a few hours. He wore his favorite orange shirt. The one that said "Blaster's don't kill people, I kill people."

He watched as streams of Smugglers fans poured into the stadium. Old fans, new fans, and nothing in between. A sea of burgundy and black. It was the first playoff game that Nar Shaddaa had participated in for quite some time. There was an air of newness and an edge that hung in the air as the stadium slowly filled gobbling up more and more beings at an unprecedented level.

Lars folded his arms across his chest as he watched the starting roster take the field. He was pleased he had such a capable assistant like Katie. She knew her way around the myriad of issues that had cropped over the course of the season. From the 'Woke' generation to the mayoral campaign to the resurrection of arguably the greatest franchise in Elite League limmie history: the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers.

"Feeling good, boss?" Katie asked leaning in the doorway.

"Damn fine, Katie," Lars replied as he swayed some more, "no matter what happens today I'm feeling good."

"You do realize that you're leading over Lilly Vehn in the mayoral election. Not by much but you've got a real chance of winning it all," Katie pointed out.

"All thanks to you," Lars said.

"Hardly," Katie said, "the people love a blue collar leader. You have a way of connecting with the masses."

"It's my smile," Lars replied.

"No, I think it's something else," Katie said.

"Katie," Lars said, "I don't make a habit of-"

Katie shook her head and pointed at Lars.

"It's your shirt. People really dig the shirt," Katie replied with a smile, "besides, boss, I don't swing that way."

"Oh," Lars said eyes widening a bit, "well, uh, damn, that's profound."

"No, boss," Katie said as she turned to leave, "you're profound. You did osmething I never thought could happen again."

"What's that?" Lars asked.

"Believe in Nar Shaddaa again."

Tag: @Trieste

 

GM post

Bonus potential in these playoffs for Carratos and Nar Shaddaa!

Galactic Cup Playoffs
Semifinals
(4) Geonosis Gangbusters at (1) Carratos Pirates (23-3)
(3) Kothlis Spies at (2) Nar Shaddaa Smugglers (27-8)

148th Galactic Cup Final
Fey’lya Forum, Tal’cara, Kothlis
(4) Geonosis Gangbusters at (3) Kothlis Spies

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @Vehn

 

GM post

Let's put ourselves out of our misery.

148th Galactic Cup Final
Fey’lya Forum, Tal’cara, Kothlis

Spoiler

(4) Geonosis Gangbusters at (3) Kothlis Spies (9-4)

TAG: No one...so let's get that next season started soon!

 

GM post

Elite League Limmie 305: We’ve Got Tribulation, My Good Sir​

​

LimmieCon, Coruscant

You could feel it the air. Sure, they’d said it was going to be a wide-open field in 304. Sure, everyone wanted a more competitive league. Sure, it had been exciting (well, kind of exciting).

But the mood today was not one of excitement. It was one of hand-wringing, of worry.

There was nothing wrong with Geonosis winning the Galactic Cup. They had a highly marketable superstar in Deon Canista. They were a success story: newbies to champions in 6 seasons. Their success had caused a new market to explode, bringing new revenues.

Except last year’s Galactic Cup Final had the lowest ratings in 35 years. More beings had watched the Boonta Eve Classic last year than the Galactic Cup Final. The stat had shocked the limmie world.

The ELL had already taken action. Commissioner Fenrir Lokensgaard had booted the last-place Rangers. Maybe he was looking for a larger market team. Maybe he was sending a message that poor performance would not be tolerated. Maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. No one knew for sure. They just knew that this season felt different already—and that was saying something after last season’s changes.

But amongst the uncertainty a current of opportunity ran through LimmieCon. If Geonosis could pull it together, seemingly playing on autopilot, then a team with a plan, with wise leadership and players bought in to a system, could surely make it all the way too. But who would seize the moment?

The Carratos Pirates? But they’d squandered an excellent regular season. How did you improve something that was already working?

The Nar Shaddaa Smugglers? Sure, they looked like the old Smugglers—but a year ago no one was sure if they’d even exist. Was last season just a last gasp of a dying franchise?

The Bakura Miners? They’d turned in a milquetoast season, a shadow of their former selves. Did this old guard team have anything new to offer?

The Mando’ade Mercs? Their hyperdrives had sputtered last season, their winning formula of so many years suddenly looking stale. After playing so long for one way, was it even possible to change gears?

There was always whoever replaced Kashyyyk…but was there any guarantee they’d be any better than the hapless squad of Wookiees and Trandoshans they were replacing? The Rangers had found how merciless the league could be to a new team. After all, Corellia was still licking their wounds on all five planets too.

Who has the wherewithal to grab the brass ring? That’s what was on the lips of everyone at LimmieCon this year.

Because no one was sure the ELL could take another playoff like the one they’d just had.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @galactic-vagabond422 @jcgoble3 @Vehn

 

Character sheet
Name: Sandy Starkrimson
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Birth year: 272 ABY
Physical appearance:

Homeworld: Bakura
Relation to team: Fan
Brief biography: Sandy is a mechanic with Lightspeed Mechanics, a galaxy-wide staffing company that provides flight staff for starships. Based out of Bakura, she joins starships that crisscross the galaxy and keeps them working. She travels the galaxy and get paid for it (rule #1: always get off the ship when you make port).

When she’s between contracts on Bakura, she spends her time with her husband, Jed. After a magical meet-cute on Coruscant after the 296 ELL Draft on Coruscant, they nearly never saw each other again. It was only thanks to a message broadcast on The Fandalorian that Sandy and Jed found each other at the 296 Galactic Cup Final. And Sandy tells everyone who asks (and even those who don’t) that if it hadn’t been for her it wouldn’t have happened. Jed knows better than to argue.

Limmie is a big part of their life, even if they aren’t always together for games due to Sandy’s work. They spent part of their honeymoon at a game (and even got interviewed by Horst Penn).

Even though the Miners haven’t made it back to the Final since 299, Sandy lives in hope. She’s gotten busted hyperspace engines working with twine and duct tape (at least long enough to make port). She’s jerry-rigged lifesupport systems by putting round pegs into square holes. If she can do that, surely the Miners can pull it together.

...right?

 

GM Approved

Character Sheet
Team: Euceron Officers
Name: Tendra Nalo-Linrai
Species: Human. She is technically half-Hapan through her mother, but she hasn't acknowledged that in close to 20 years since Consortium goons tried to kill her.
Gender: Female
Birth year: 259
Physical appearance: 5'11" and 195 pounds, about 15 pounds less than her playing days. She's lost a little muscle mass, but the outlines of her muscles are still visible at a glance. Her ever-present tan has stuck with her, and she has grown out her blonde hair halfway down her back, a length that she couldn't safely experiment with while playing limmie (because horse-collar tackle rules don't apply to hair grabs). Turns out that when it gets that long, her hair naturally curls, something she had never known but discovered she really likes.
Homeworld: Euceron
Relation to Team: Retired star player

Biography: The middle child, and only daughter, of the late Marte Nalo, former head coach of the Euceron Storm, it was only natural that Tendra would play limmie as a child. She excelled from youth to high school levels of limmie. Graduating early but feeling too young for the pros and not wanting to go to college, she entered the Hapes Consortium Juniors League instead. Four years later, she looked to go pro, but her homeworld Euceron Officers had just folded following a devastating series of events. Heartbroken, she signed a four-year contract with the Hapes Consortium Buccaneers, despite her misgivings about the all-female culture on Hapes. But during her rookie season, the winds of change started blowing in the Consortium, and after a locker room brawl by the Bucs that left the team short-handed and left Tendra with her first and worst concussion, men called up from the LFL affiliate Firedrakes played on the Bucs for the final game of the season. A few months later, the Bucs began to integrate males into the roster. Tendra also took a few weeks off to tag along on a Jedi mission, where she personally assisted in killing the beings responsible for the death of the Storm. She happily signed a three-year extension when her rookie deal was up... and that's when it all came crashing down. Under orders from the Queen Mother herself, the Bucs started removing men from the team and reverting back to an all-female team. Tendra, now the team captain, initially spoke out before learning of the threats and realizing that she could be a target. When the time was right, she spoke out again and fled Hapes, dodging two attempts on her life by Consortium goons as she did so. She retreated to Euceron, never to visit the Hapes Consortium again and wanting no part of a team where the owner was willing to kill to get their way.

If that had been the entire story, Tendra might very well have retired right then. But as fate would have it, the grandson of the final owner of the Euceron Storm was starting up a new team from scratch on Euceron called the Officers, in memory of those law enforcement officers (including Marte, who followed his old college degree into a third career as a law enforcement officer in his final years) who had been killed in the previous devastating events. Tendra opened talks with the Officers about a contract, and jumped at it once it was known that the Officers would go directly into the Elite League, finally realizing her childhood dream of playing Elite League limmie on Euceron. In her third season with the Officers, she finally achieved the ultimate goal of any limmie player, lifting the Galactic Cup of Limmie as team captain after a thrilling Final on Canto Bight. The victory was made sweeter by bringing her homeworld their first ever Galactic Cup, and the resulting championship parade and celebration broke the all-time Euceron record for largest gathering of sentient beings -- the gathering numbered greater than the entire population of Euceron.

However, over the years, Tendra had collected more and more concussions, each one causing further invisible brain damage. Her seventh came in her fifth year with the Officers. Shortly after recovering from that one, a simple 5K race in which Tendra was beaten by a teenager by one step sparked a thought and then a decision in her. Having told that teenager she wanted a rematch, she wanted to ensure she would be alive and healthy to do so. Following the Officers' season finale the next day, a game that was meaningless for them but where they played spoiler for another team, Tendra took the microphone in front of the home crowd and spoke about her career. In that speech, she disclosed for the first time in public her role in the Jedi mission ten years prior, but the focus was on her health. She announced her retirement at the age of 33 years old and publicly called out the Elite League over the concussion issue, calling for others similarly affected to speak out and for action to be taken to reduce concussions. Action did occur: the subsequent invention of the "head-borne area-needed directional athletic inertial dampener" prevents concussions by stabilizing the brain and preventing it from striking the skull. The "HeadBAND AID" (a terrible acronym that exists solely because nobody could invent a better name) was not made mandatory by the League, but nowadays anyone with a brain wears one anyway, if only to protect their career, and its use is required by law on some planets, including Euceron.

Satisfied with that achievement, Tendra faded into the background, although she did take that rematch against the teenager in the 5K and beat her by three steps the following year, while both of them broke the course record for any gender. Her most public appearance in the past 10 years has been at the 303 Eusebus City Marathon, where at the age of 44, she completed the standard 42.2 km course in 2 hours, 52 minutes, then slipped out before the news reporters could find her. She prefers to keep her life private and avoid the public eye; since she is otherwise still instantly recognizable to any long-time limmie fan, she usually wears a simple disguise when she goes grocery shopping, to a restaurant, and the like, and takes vacations to secluded locations, including several epic backpacking trips (and that time she almost died whitewater rafting). She does this not so much because of a desire to avoid attention for herself, but more to protect the privacy of the four people in the world whom she cares the most about: her 80-year-old mother, Jaria; her 41-year-old brother, Jado, who lives on Ossus at the Jedi Temple where he is a Jedi Master but still finds time for regular chats with his sister (the two have even taken a couple of backpacking trips together, with Jado's Padawan joining them on one of them); her husband of six years, Gavyn Linrai; and their four-year-old son Giovanni Linrai. However, at the League's insistence, she is packing her bag to travel (without Gavyn and Gio) to the second annual LimmieCon, where she's been invited to do... well, she doesn't know exactly what yet, but she's sure the long-time Euceron fans will love seeing her, even if the Officers are down in the Premier League these days. And she is starting to miss the limelight...

 

GM post
LimmieCon, Coruscant

Even though the doors have only been open for an hour, beings already crowd the halls housing the gathering. (After all, who knows what swag booths are handing out?) The crowds are only picking up as the minutes tick by, the late sleepers and brunch crowd streaming in. Every section of LimmieCon is starting to fill up: the team pavilions, the panel rooms, the vendor booths, the interactive fan experiences, the meet-and-greet signature stations, the kids activity area.

In fact, for the repeat attendees, it suddenly seems like perhaps the organizers didn't anticipate exactly how popular LimmieCon was going to be this year. Already the aisles feel like they're growing crowded. Volunteers are moving beings through to keep things flowing in the major arteries of the space. The vendors are pleased: one of the ways you can stand still is if you're browsing a stall.

The lack of preparation comes through as volunteers sometimes accidentally direct streams of beings into each other. One such fortuitous instance causes a collision that brings together two females from almost opposite ends of the galaxy. Former ELL star Tendra Nalo and starship mechanic Sandy Starkrimson literally bump into each other in this mix of limmie fanatics.

TAG: @jcgoble3

 

IC: Sandy Starkrimson
Evenvale, Bakura

​

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

“I’ll miss you more.”

“I’ll miss you like a million times more.”

“I’ll miss you like a flibberty-jillion times more.”

“Fine,” Jed Starkrimson sighed. “Even though that’s not a real number.”

“It’s the realest number,” Sandy Starkrimson said as she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder with an ease that spoke of long practice. “But seriously? You sure you can’t come? I could pull out a wall panel in the engine room and stuff you in.”

“Don’t you need all those systems?” Jed asked skeptically.

“Pfft,” Sandy dismissed. “Nobody really needs all the life support systems.” Though Jed was sure she was kidding, he was never really sure. After all, she was the starship mechanic in the marriage.

They played this scene out every few weeks. Sandy picked up a contract to hop on a starship heading out from Bakura that needed an engineer. Sometimes they’d just lost theirs and didn’t have one lined up. Other times the owner needed some maintenance, but didn’t want to let the ship lay idle in port when they could be making credits. It was a net profit to keep the ship running while a mechanic worked on it in flight, even if that sometimes meant they went slower than usual.

Whatever their reason, there were always flights that needed someone like Sandy. Her employer, Lightspeed Mechanics, arranged the jobs and she’d hop the monorail or an intraplanet shuttle to get to wherever her ride departed from. Most times Sandy had a choice of destinations.

Never seen Mon Cala? The right combo of jobs could get her there. Always wanted to experience the Gold Beaches of Corellia? There could be three flights leaving the same day that could get you there.

Sometimes Sandy came back on the same ship. Other times she’d have been on four or five different crafts before she returned to Bakura. For someone who’d grown up lying on her back in the yard, looking at the night sky, it was a great way to live.

Except for the part where she had to leave the love of her life.

“I thought for sure everyone would want to come,” Sandy said. “I mean you did go to the Draft together that one year.”

“Cady couldn’t trade her shifts and Jax and Ronnie didn’t feel right leaving Aldrin with the grandparents for so long,” Jed said.

“But it’s LimmieCon! Everyone’s gonna be there!” Sandy protested. When she’d seen a job that would get her to Coruscant in time for the second annual bash celebrating all things boloball, she had snapped it up. She was basically getting paid to go to LimmieCon. Free travel and meals both ways. All she had to do was pay for a hotel (which, admittedly, was not cheap—Coruscant prices were no joke).

“And you know I’ve got those deliverables at work,” Jed added.

“I guess it’s your fault for choosing a lame job with things like ‘an office,’ ‘benefits,’ and ‘stability,’” Sandy said, making air quotes with her fingers. “See ya, babe.”

“Don’t have too much fun without me,” Jed called after Sandy as she boarded the shuttle.

“What? Have fun without you? OK Jed!” Sandy shouted back even though she’d heard Jed jus fine.

---

LimmieCon, Coruscant

Even if she wished Jed and their friends had been able to come, Sandy was OK flying solo. LimmieCon felt even bigger than when she’d gone to the Galactic Cup Final with Jed. Admittedly, she’d been a bit distracted by their reunion then, but Bakura Gardens was still a small stadium as ELL venues went. There had to be way more than the Gardens could fit here.

There were rows of booths where you could meet players, pavilions for teams up and down the ranks of pro limmie, even some virtual limmie experiences where you could try things like kicking balls, tackling (aided by cushions to break your fall), and being a goalkeeper. She wanted to see it all.

It seemed like she wasn’t alone in that regard. Sandy bet nearly every species in the galaxy was here. Specifically, right here. Though it wasn’t a crush, she found herself in the middle of a flow of beings that were getting directed to “keep moving” as one neon-shirted volunteer instructed.

This took Sandy past a booth selling limmie-themed snacks, which she absolutely wanted to check out. In twisting to see if somehow she could make her way against the flow of bodies, she wasn’t looking where she was going. This caused her to bump into another Human woman…one who had more than a tenth of a meter on her.

“Oops! Sorry!” Sandy said, drawing back, as much as conditions would allow. “Didn’t see you there.” The female had barely moved. She was surprisingly solid…and attractive. She suddenly remembered the rumors about how Rose-Lynn Hypertravels and Tynos Taal had met. Good thing Sandy was married. And straight. Well, given present company…no, she’d just leave it at that. “You seem better suited to this kind of thing than me.”

TAG: @jcgoble3

 

IC: Tendra Nalo-Linrai

Tendra was in a bit of a difficult situation. There wasn't a backstage route to the autograph signing area, which was where she was scheduled in about half an hour, so she had to go through the public floor. She was slightly too recognizable still to just walk around in public, especially at LimmieCon, and the red VIP badge hanging around her neck didn't help with avoiding recognition. Fortunately, event staff had provided her with a bodyguard... not that the Zabrak man they had provided was useful. In fact, she was bigger and stronger than he was. Really, she thought as she threaded her way through the crowd, keeping her head down to minimize the chance of being recognized as her bodyguard tried and failed to keep up, the event staff really had not been prepared for the event this year. There must be some kind of big thing rumored to happen or something, but she didn't have ears for that kind of thing. She wondered if -- ouch!

She collided with a smaller human woman who wasn't looking where she was going and bounced off of Tendra. "Oops! Sorry!" the other woman said. Tendra bit her tongue and reminded herself that the event hall was just too crowded to not collide with someone. "Didn't see you there." The other woman looked up at Tendra, who couldn't tell if she had been recognized. "You seem better suited to this kind of thing than me." Tendra decided at that point that she had been recognized.

"Yeah, you wouldn't make much of a full back in the ELL," Tendra dryly observed as they were both jostled by the crowd and a volunteer yelling at them to move. She swiveled her head and saw a booth opening two meters behind her and to her right. Sensing that this woman might want to chat for a minute, Tendra grabbed her by her bicep and gently pulled her into the nearby booth so they could breathe, not that the woman was given much of a choice. (To be frank, Tendra had always been a little agoraphobic, especially in dense crowds like this.) "Yeah, it's me. They didn't really organize this show well or else I'd be backstage." She had no idea what happened to her bodyguard, and guessed that he got swallowed by the crowd. Poor guy, she thought.

The booth turned out to be the SkimmerAde booth, so she opened a nearby sales cooler, pulled out two ice cold bottles of SkimmerAde, and tossed some credit chips at the surprised booth workers. "Keep the change!" she called. She turned back around and handed one to the other woman, positioning herself with her back to the aisle to avoid recognition. "I think we could both use a breather from that crazy crowd. What's your favorite team?" She opened her bottle and took a drink as she listened to the response.

TAG: @Trieste

 

GM post
LimmieCon, Coruscant

Elsewhere, one of the halls is filling up with beings for one of the marquee events of LimmieCon: a fireside chat, as it was being billed, with the owner of one of the galaxy's premiere teams. Everyone wanted to hear from one of the biggest personalities in the league today. A being who spoke his mind, who had a literally outsized presence on his team and community.

"Gentlebeings, please welcome someone I know is going to give us some fantastic insights today," the Ishi Tib said, opening the event, "owner of the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers, Mr. Lars Steelhead!"

TAG: @Vehn

 

​

IC: Lars Steelhead
305 ABY Season Debut
LimmieCon

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers owner Lars Steelhead chuckled and waved to the crowd. He was growing more accustomed to being in the public eye. Public speaking had never really been his forte but he loved what he did for his job and it was now coming more naturally.

"Welcome, welcome!" Lars stated and he took a glance over at Katie, "Can I tell them?"

Katie Sanaar, Lars' assistant, nodded.

"So we're here for another wonderful year of Elite League Limmie. Wow, this is Limmie Con. Limmie Con a wonderful place to ask famous people questions about anything. I mean, literally anything. But before the questions begin I can safely say with confidence that you are now looking at the next mayor of Nar Shaddaa. Before anyone wonders, however, Nar Shaddaa allows for citizens to have special status and I can hold two jobs. Don't ask me how. I just can. So, let's have some questions."

"How tall are you?" A Quarren asked.

"Tall," Lars said, "lethally tall."

"Didn't you used to act professionally?" An Aqualish asked.

"Yes," Lars replied laughing, "I did. I played a freakishly tall villain in the famous spy movie series Johnny Spymaster. In fact, Katie, don't we have a clip we can play them?"

Katie nodded and fired up a nearby holoprojector that nearly took the entire room.



The audience laughed.

"Just so everyone knows I never hurt a cable while filming. It was all an act. Somehow I didn't lose any teeth either. I played a villain called Mandible. Mandible was one of my favorite characters. I think as the character aged there was this beautiful arc where he married some geeky girl. It was quite charming. I loved acting. I guess in some ways I still do. I mean I was given a small part in the Limmie film, Happy Goalkeeping."

"I'll see you in the parking lot after the game!" Someone shouted.

"Exactly!" Lars laughed, "what a fun role. Any other questions?"

"You resurrected the Smugglers are you going to resurrect Nar Shaddaa as well?" A Mon Calamari questioned.

"That's the plan," Lars said, "but Nar Shaddaa would need a solid mayor to serve a few decades to really turn things around. I only get four years. Who knows. Maybe they'll change the laws because I'm so awesome."

"Where did you get the capital to buy the Smugglers?" A voice called out.

Lars squinted against the stage lights and then shrugged off the question. Didn't matter to him who'd asked. He'd have them killed anyways.

Just kidding Lars thought.

Tag: @Trieste (I had to cut myself off because I forgot this portion was back and forth between different people ha ha)

 

IC: Sandy Starkrimson
LimmieCon, Coruscant

Sandy's first thought was that she was being kidnapped. Her second thought was that she couldn't imagine why anyone would want to kidnap her. Unless perhaps a Sith Lord had a busted alluvial damper. But why would a Sith Lord come to LimmieCon to get a mechanic?

However, the chances that this was a kidnapping were decreasing by the second.

1. The maybe-kidnapper thought that Sandy knew her. This didn't necessarily mean this wasn't a kidnapping, because you could be kidnapped by someone you knew.
2. The maybe-kidnapper was giving Sandy SkimmerAde. This meant that at the very least the maybe-kidnapper wanted Sandy alive...which, come to think of it was the differentiating point between a kidnapping and a murder.
3. The maybe-kidnapper was generous with service industry workers. That seemed incompatible with the kind of being who would kidnap someone.
4. The maybe-kidnapper was interested in Sandy's favorite limmie team. This was the definitive one. A kidnapper wouldn't be interested in getting to know her! (If Sandy was still wrong and this was a kidnapping, her captor was using up valuable conversation topics pretty early on.)

"First off, thank you!" Sandy said, holding up her SkimmerAde. "Green is definitely in the top three 3 SkimmerAde flavors.

"Second, I'm a Miners fan and I will 100% fight you on that if you have a problem with that." Sandy gave her most intimidating look, but could only keep it up for a second and a half. "Just kidding! I'd never fight anyone, especially someone who looks like they could beat me up."

Wait a second...LimmieCon...someone who thought Sandy knew her...backstage...getting pulled aside...

"Wait! You're--" Sandy lowered her voice. "--you're famous, aren't you? Sweet baby Grogu! This is cool! I'm meeting a famous being at LimmieCon! Wait until Jed hears about this! He'll be so jealous!"

She paused. "Uhhhhh...don't take this the wrong way...but who...exactly are you again? I mostly catch the games on the wave so I'm not so good with faces. Wait! Are you Liz? No, you don't sound like Liz. Are you a coach? Or a general manager? You must be with the Rebels, right? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." She mimed zipping her lips, turning a key, and throwing said key away.

TAG: @jcgoble3

 

GM post
LimmieCon, Coruscant

"We've got another question from the audience," the moderator said, "and I hear this one is about the Smugglers."

"Yeah, hi Mr. Steelhead," the fan asked, her voice being picked up by a mic that floated into position near her. "So the Smugglers went from not existing to being in the playoffs in just a season. I'm sure that's great, but the Smugglers looked like they underperformed in their playoff game. What are your plans, if any, for the team this offseason?"

TAG: @Vehn

 

IC: Lars Steelhead
LimmieCon

"If you're asking if we're going to add some quality talent, well, I think we should. This place, Nar Shaddaa I mean, used to be known for having some very powerful teams. Most years it was our defensive front. Other years it was our offensive personnel. But you know what's an even bigger issue than the roster? The stench. Have you ever been to Nar Shaddaa?"

Lars didn't wait for the person to reply back, "I'm the Mayor of this town. Garbage disposal is my number one priority. Wait, I take that back. Winning a Galactic Cup is my number one priority. Cleaning up garbage is number one b. So yeah, do I have plans? You betcha. I've got lots of plans."

Tag: @Trieste

 

IC: Tendra Nalo-Linrai

Okay, this lady didn't know who Tendra was, so Tendra decided to tell a half-truth. "Oh, just a retired player. Been out of the spotlight for a decade or so. They wanted me to come do autographs and some special thing because apparently people still like me." The last part was said with just a hint of a sarcastic tone.

Tendra fished in her pocket as she said this and came up with two tickets for her autograph session. She had obtained them on the off-chance she found someone worth giving them to, and this seemed like a good enough situation for that. "Here, have a couple of tickets for my autograph session," she said, handing them to the lady. (If the lady were to look closely, the tickets identified Tendra, albeit it by her maiden name. Each was valid for one autograph on one item.)

Tendra briefly answered the other things the lady said. "Never played for the Miners, but I'd never begrudge a fan their choice of team. Blue SkimmerAde is better than green though," Tendra winked, holding up her own bottle before draining the remaining half of it in one gulp.

<gap for a reply>

She glanced back out to the aisle and saw that traffic had calmed down. At that moment, Tendra's bodyguard finally found her and didn't look too happy about it. "I gotta get to the autograph area," Tendra told the lady as she let the Zabrak man lead her away. "Maybe I'll see you there?"

TAG: @Trieste

 

GM post
LimmieCon, Bakura

"This way, Ms. Nalo," the Zabrak said to Tendra as he ushered her away. "Apologies for the inconvenience. You shouldn't go wandering off. Everyone gets screened when they enter, but you never know what could happen. Famous beings can bring out the crazy in beings. Do you need anything?" He didn't seem that interested in the answer, more in guiding her to where she'd agreed to do an autograph session.

---

"As always, a...lively discussion with one of the...most visible," the moderator said, having to work hard to find the appropriate words for this session with Lars, "personalities in the sport today. Gentlebeings, join me in thanking Lars Steelhead for spending some time with us."

The hall applauded and cheered the eccentric fan-turned-owner-turned-politician. A LimmieCon volunteer, waved Lars through a curtain backstage. "Just got the autograph session and you'll be done for the day. Bet you've got a cold one--or maybe a cold dozen--waiting for you when you're done, right?" the volunteer joked as she escorted Lars to the autograph area.

---

So it was that at the same moment Tendra Nalo took her seat, so too did Lars Steelhead. Two giants of the sport in more ways than another. And, to top it all off, Sandy Starkrimson found herself face-to-face with them both when she came to the head of the line.

TAG: @jcgoble3 @Vehn

 

OOC: Kinda trying to do two conversations at different times in parallel here so we aren't stuck on just one scene.

IC: Tendra Nalo-Linrai

Tendra rolled her eyes without answering as the Zabrak guided her away. Really, he was pulling her along, and she could have easily thrown him to the ground, but she allowed it. She did yank her arm out of his grip after a moment, but followed closely anyway.

Eventually she sat down at the autograph table, tossing her SkimmerAde bottle in a trash can behind the row of tables. She looked over at the hulk of a man sitting down next to her and recognized the man. At seven feet two inches of pure muscle, Lars Steelhead looked like he could wipe the floor with Tendra without difficulty.

"Hello," Tendra said to Lars. "How's life as an owner treating you?"

<gap for a reply>

TAG: @Vehn

---

Tendra signed a variety of items over the next ten minutes, always making small talk with the fans as they came through, learning about how they became her fan. Most were Officers fans, many of the older ones having history with the Storm. A small number knew her from her days with the Buccaneers; she signed Bucs gear on request, but preferred not to given her history with the Consortium.

"Thanks and go Officers!" Tendra said to a young fan walking away. She looked up at the next person and discovered it was the lady from earlier. So she did show up! Tendra thought. "Hello there! I believe we met already? I didn't get your name back there." She smiled as she waited, permanent marker at the ready.

TAG: @Trieste

 

IC: Sandy Starkrimson
LimmieCon, Coruscant

“What does blue even taste like?!” Sandy blurted out, unable to control herself. “Blue?! More like blech!” She realized she probably shouldn’t be arguing with a former player, whoever they were, but still. Blue? Who chose blue?

Before the debate could go much further, the player’s minder found them and she was off on her way.

“See you later!” Sandy said, tickets in hand. She hadn’t intended to go for that, but it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up, even if she didn’t know who she’d just met.

She pulled out her datapad and sent a group message to Jed and the rest of their Evenvale limmie crew.

Hey, who’s Tendra Nalo? Because I just met her.

The responses were immediate and a lot, to put it lightly.

---

After being told in no uncertain terms that she would be shunned by the group if she didn’t go to the autograph session (Cady had insisted that Jed should divorce Sandy if she failed to make the most of this opportunity), Sandy had searched for something that seemed like an appropriate item to autograph. She wondered if she should get some Euceron or Hapes merchandise, but while it felt fitting, Sandy thought it might wind up in the back of a closet one day.

Instead she settled on an official printed LimmieCon program. Though all the details were available on the HoloNet, the official program was handy for signing. Jed still had his 296 Draft program. They’d framed it so they could hang it as part of the lore of their relationship. This seemed like a good companion piece. She could even get several autographs, maybe even with someone from the Miners. Harle—no, Senator Harle Quinn—was here and was doing a panel about the intersection of sport and political activism. Maybe she should try to get into that. From what the gang had said, Tendra could be a natural fit for that panel too.

For the moment, Sandy was inching through the line for Tendra, flipping through the program to see what else might be interesting. There was supposed to be an ELL Commissioner’s address later. That could get interesting. There was also some kind of costume event. No one had told her there would be costumes. She hadn’t brought anything like that. There were even some live broadcasts taking place.

And then she was suddenly at the front of the line, officially meeting Tendra Nalo, former ELL player, for the second time.

“Oh! Hi! Again!” Sandy said. “I’m Sandy and my friends have already told me that I’m a farmgirl nerf herder for now knowing who you are, Ms. Nalo. The words ‘you call yourself a limmie fan,’ were used. They said you get to decide how I prostrate myself before you, including years of indentured servitude. Please say you don’t need a starship engineer.”

TAG: @jcgoble3

 

OOC: For reference here, Tendra has been retired for 13 years at this point, and only remained in the public eye for about a year after retirement before fading into sweet privacy. Also, I'm assuming here from my past convention experiences that a lengthy conversation isn't going to happen here since people tend to have only a short time at the booth before being ushered along, so I'm offering a later interaction to keep things going. If Sandy wants to chicken out, she'll just have to answer to her friends.

IC: Tendra Nalo-Linrai

Tendra buried her face in her hands, unable to keep from laughing out loud. "You know, I should have figured that out back at the SkimmerAde booth," she said before finally looking up again. "Speaking of which, I really don't understand why everyone hates the blue flavor. More for me, I guess. Anyway, I take it you're relatively new to the sport? It's no big deal, everyone has a first game at some point," Tendra said with a wink.

She took Sandy's program and looked for a good place to sign it as she talked. "I really don't think prostrating yourself is necess... wait a minute, I've got an idea," Tendra grinned as she remembered something. She found a solid black area on the front cover of the program and reached under the table to switch out for a silver marker, with which she wrote, "To Sandy: Farmgirl nerf herders make the best limmie fans! " before affixing her well-known half-signature/half-scribble.

Tendra handed the program back and looked Sandy in the eye. "I think I'm about 10? Maybe 15? years older than you. Meet me at the skills challenge hall at 1630 this afternoon. There's six different skill stations; I'll have a prize for you if you can beat me at just one of them." Tendra was scheduled to be there as a celebrity coach from 1530 to 1630, so it wasn't like she'd have to sneak into the hall avoiding identification. She had a few pieces of memorabilia with her at the convention to give away that she intended to hand out spontaneously for elite level scores, and she'd save one for Sandy.

The volunteer keeping things moving began to signal that they needed to keep the line moving, so Tendra motioned for the teenager next in line as she said, "See you there and don't be an Endorian chicken!"

TAG: @Trieste

 

GM post

Before Sandy could move on, a new being slid into a seat. It was Jay Chu-ni, second year player for the Carratos Pirates. Unlike some of the beings here, this wasn't her first LimmieCon. This wasn't even her first autograph session here. Back then she'd been a rookie just making it into the big time. Now she'd been in a Galactic Cup Playoff game, even if it had ended in a loss.

And as Sandy was moved along by the next being behind her, she found herself swept in front of Jay and Lars Steelhead. It might not have been how the line system was supposed to work, but it seemed that following protocol was only lightly followed at LimmieCon. Maybe it should be named LimmieChaos?

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @Vehn

 

IC: Sandy Starkrimson
LimmieCon, Coruscant

Sandy decided she’d go along with Tendra thinking she was new to the sport…and not that when Tendra had last played Sandy had been 20-years-old and kind of hadn’t paid attention to any players who weren’t on the Miners. She’d been studying starship engineering back then and hadn’t been as into limmie as she was. So in a way Tendra was right. Yeah, she was just going to go with Tendra was right. That was the best option, so Sandy smiled and nodded.

She watched as Tendra did more than a cursory signature on the program. It was upside-down from Sandy’s point of view, so she was only able to understand what it said when Tendra handed it back. As Sandy read it, her face lit up. “Oh my Maker, thank you! Everyone’s going to be so jealous when they see this! Thank you!”

But there was more—an ELL player was inviting her to do skills challenge stuff! “Really? That would be awesome! I’ll be there! You don’t even need to bring a prize!” Jed was going to flip. He’d be so mad he didn’t come. Served him right.

As Sandy felt herself shuffled along, she discovered that she was now standing in front of a giant. A literal giant. And he was still sitting down. And he might still be taller than Sandy. His nameplate said Lars Steelhead, Nar Shaddaa Smugglers. He must be a player. Like their best player. Maybe their goalkeeper. He was probably taller than the goal bar.

And she was also looking at a Pantoran who was Jay Chu-ni, Carratos Pirates. Sandy knew that name! She’d heard it a lot during the broadcast when the Pirates had destroyed by the Miners. She was definitely good.

Before Sandy could say something (or even figure out if she’d accidentally cut the line), her datapad chimed. In fact, a lot of datapads started going off. She had a feeling something big had just happened.

“Sorry, I get the feeling we should know what’s going on,” Sandy said, digging her datapad out of her bag.

There was a notification: LIMMIECON 305 NEWS: MINERS ANNOUNCE SIGNING OF OBI-SAN SAMYA TO ANCHOR DEFENSE

“You ever hear of this guy? You limmie players all know each other, right?” Sandy asked the limmie luminaries as she scrolled on her datapad.

It looked like Samya had played in the Alliance Boloball Conference for the Eriadu Slicers prior to getting a contract offer from Shay Dionne.

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @jcgoble3 @Vehn