Home Court Advantage [Kana Truden]

[Dashal Vance]

BRENTAAL IV

VORTAD STADIUM
Smashball Galaxy Cup


Welcome, ladies and gentlemen and sentients from across the Galaxy to Vortad Stadium!

The annual Smashball championship, known intergalactically, will have a winner tonight!

These brave teams have battled it out in the semi-finals star systems away for a chance to complete in this grand tournament!

Tonight, the renowned and feared Corellian Dreadnaughts will face their epic rivals; The Ranphyxes!

Get ready for the main event - and the soon to be crowned champion of 305th annual Smashball Galaxy Cup!



Skylane traffic was backed up for kilometers as far as the eye could see in a cross section grid in the heart of the city of Vortad. The massive rotund stadium raised within the epicenter of various and sundry buildings situated around the mammoth complex. Four great looming spires stood at fast attention at the cardinal points of the focus of tonight's festivities. Atop each monolithic edifice rested a circular disc radiating it's holo-emission of light out into the night sky. Further inward the almost cone shaped arena housed a roaring crowd of fans the galaxy over. One hundred thousand fans packed tightly into the circular stadium to bear witness to the main event. The closer you got, the greater the cacophony of sound from the eager sentients anxious for the adrenaline rush that was Smashball. Hundreds of holo-cams from every major holonet network buzzed around inside the cone structure to catch reactions on every level as well as sweep across the open field below. The energy was electric and intoxicating - much like a good portion of the fans who had decided to partake in the obligatory pre-game tradition of being three sheets to the wind before opening ceremonies.

A dizzying array of lights and sound bombarded the playing field while clever photo-receptor shields kept the bright glare of the tens of thousands of datapads were hoisted into the air for a clear view. This was certainly a spectacle to behold, and it was a game regulated to ensure maximum pleasure for the fans, and a game worthy of the champion title. As such, all sponsorship rates had skyrocketed, driving out some of the less wealthy players in the commercial industry. For a spot on their golden goose that would reach billions of clients, a thirty second spot ran somewhere between your first born child, or your soul depending on circumstances. Needless to say the price tag was ridiculous. Thankfully in a galaxy full of possibilities there were far more cost effective solutions in order to purchase some time on the air for the betterment of a company. One particular company had turned their attention to an anonymous benefactor and reached out for a favor, one that this unknown donor was happy to supply.

Perched precariously atop the upper-ring of the stadium, crouched in a stance that told of his limber and lithe muscle tone, squatted Dash. as he watched the proceedings. A lavish grin spread ear to ear while his night goggles were on, catching the play by play way down from the nose-bleed level. He could have sat ringside if he wanted to, but he wasn't here simply to watch the championship match - Vance was on the clock as it were. A phenomenal zoom lens on his custom goggles drew his attention to the court below, watching the pre-game show and opening ceremonies. They sure had strange traditions on this planet. All sorts of entertainment that was expected from the fans of Smashball were present - along with Vortad's signature juggling of baby geese - goslings. Some people would do anything for entertainment.

"These people need to get out more." The slicer commented about the festivities and their unorthodox traditional ceremonies. A shake of his head while he brought up a holo-screen from his left tech-vambrace. A map of the complex in all levels came into view, and he quickly scrolled through and noted the positions of what he needed to hit. He had time to spare though, but a quick double check never hurt. A dark black orb hovered nearby, the swishing of it's repulsorlift technology muted by the din of the crowd below.

"Actually that tradition dates back for over three centuries, and was originally hand picked by the.."

"Duke of I don't care? Seriously hon, If I want a history lesson, I'll ask an infochant."

"Why do I even bother?"

"Unfortunately you seem to be fascinated by historical trivia."

"If you don't learn from your history you'll be doomed to repeat it."

"Key word; your. I will replace one of their Smashballs with you."

"They could also use your head."

"Just watch the game." Dash cut off the back and forth banter, despite how much he actually enjoyed going rounds with his personally crafted AI. They actually did get along most of the time, but the virtual vixen took nearly every opportunity to incite some kind of playful dialogue with her favorite slicer. She'd grown quite fond of Dash since she came online, but that was mostly by pure design.

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

The people around her reeked of sweat and the noises of men and women alike as they cheered at the pre-game entertainment was almost enough to deafen even the most powerful of Jedi Masters. She felt out of place as she remained seated while the people around her stood up and tossed their arms and bodies around in excitement.

As Kana stared at the field the heads and arms of others would occasionally came up to block her vision. To her it was all a mystery. They were just performing the pre-game show so why was everyone wearing themselves out this early? She'd let the question remain a mystery for now as she got up from her seat. The knight made an effort to get away from all the noise, even if just for a few minutes, she owed her ears that much. After all, the cheers and noise was great but even jedi have their limits.

As she made her way towards the exit her eye would twitch as the occasional cheer and awkward scream made its way straight into her ear drum.

“Sorry. Hi, excuse me. Coming through, thank you. Excuse me, sir.” Kana repeated the chain of apologies until the stairs were hers to be climbed. As she stood at the first step on the stair case she took a look back at her seat. Great, someone else had had already taken it. “Eh, better they lose their hearing than me.”

She shrugged and began making her way up the stairs. It was best to just let someone else have this one. She had business to attend to anyway. At least if her gut feeling was to be trusted. Then again, bad gut feelings and jedi had proven themselves to walk hand in hand at this point.

Kana’s stomach slowly grumbled.

“Actually, make it two bad feelings…” She mused to herself as she reached the final step. “Now, to find something to eat.”

The noise of the stadium faded as she turned the corner and was replaced by an ever familiar high-pitched ringing sound that was just as equally annoying. Kana rubbed her ears in a most irritated manner as she tried to get rid of it with little-to-no success

This must have been what deaf people heard at all times, of this Kana grew certain for each passing moment.

[member="Dashal Vance"]

 

[Dashal Vance]

Of some of the most well renowned sports in the Galaxy; Smashball was one of the most violent. A trait that while it drew its fair share of adrenaline junkies and testosterone plagued meat-heads, also made it one of the most dangerous civilian occupations. Those on the field were tough, brutal, and could certainly handle themselves and throw intimidation around much like the shot sized spheres they flung at breakneck speeds. The stadium lights flashed and dazzled the crowd while simultaneously focusing their collective attention at the aggression filled play by play. Vibrant and massive holo screens floated on all four cardinal directions displaying various holo-cam angles of the players, while revealing their season stats, and various facts and figures of their career. The atmosphere was alive in the stands, as sentients from across the Galaxy raved at the spectacle, taking their minds off of whatever the various systems threw at them on a Galactic Standard daily basis - allowing them to lose their emotions and will to cheer for a cause they could unite with. Simple psychology, and they all bought into it - even the slicer that was still perched above the stands, lazily dangling his legs over the side while he watched the various holo screens for a better view of the sport.

For a mind like Dash's though, simply watching the sport wasn't going to keep him occupied for very long. He had a horrible attention span for a single focus, unless it challenged his mental faculties. If he was just zoning out on a single blip of entertainment, he'd get bored very easily. Teal blue light flooded his face from the holo-emitted screen from his right tech vambrace. Setting up a few raids through his own personal holo-matrix server back home, and checking on the current expansion pack to his favorite game genre. There was a group starting up an open-source version of the game, of which he was involved in - considering he started the movement (anonymously of course). The platform could really expand in his vision, and the best help was for similar holocade junkies and basement programmers to jump on board with. Free help was sometimes the best, as the only motivation they needed was collaborative acceptance and a piece of the pie.

"Heh. Just hit one thousand forty two for project shriek-hawk, nice round number. Remind me to allocate another exabyte for their prototype level." An idle comment to the floating orb that kept it's tracking movements around his form, occasionally pulling stats from the games and drawing algorithmic conclusions on the stats, and the fantasy leagues that various systems were cajoling for and against. Statistical diagnostics were a common breeze for DARCI, but she invested just the same. Data was data, and it was often one of the AI's greatest vices. It also didn't hurt that Dash had set up some dummy shell companies to be silent partners in the investments. While he was more than content to take from the wealthy and aloof, he also had no issue with getting a bankroll in other ways. Money wasn't so much of an issue to the slicer - as it was easy enough to come by. He wasn't planning a coup or taking over Galactic reserves. Nothing that would warrant a great deal of attention - but certainly enough to lead his urban chic lifestyle.

"Reminder added." DARCI drolled out, certainly not interested in being a glorified secretary, and far more engrossed in the game proceedings. "Oh come now, that's an obvious fault line foul. Where's the flag on that play?" Her voice pitched up in synthesized annoyance. "Ocelot14v2 just cited the rule they are blatently ignoring, and let me guess.....yes, fifteen new brain trusts just slotted Gorshen as their new starting center." Within fractions of a second, she'd already found starchat blog posts about the obvious faux-pas on the field, and found the fantasy league draft picks were spiking from an oversight. And that tone....oh DARCI was pissed. "No, you're too vacuous to even attempt that team - consider it deleted."

"Did you just...?"

"Got a problem with that?"

"Now now darling, calm your circuits."

"If you say it's just a game...."

"Logic mode dear - this is a business enterprise. The fact that it caters to nerve-burners who couldn't decipher a cereal box maze let alone a complex string of statistics and number pools doesn't mean they deserve holo-net banishment."

"Your point?"

"Restore the account, but just flag him as a meme to go viral." A small pause was offered on the part of the AI as she considered his words.

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around."

"For my amazing good looks, I know....oh, good; intermission...showtime." Dash gave a sly grin and rolled up to his feet and started to make tracks around the rim towards the entry panel he had spotted a few meters away already. Sliding to a stop, and coming to his knees, a quick pry job on the panel allowed him access, and he started to work the wires inside the compartment that hit the main feed. Flashing lights on his holoscreen went in rapid array as he piped into the commercial sector and started going through the lineup. "Now, to truly tempt the audience with the real deal. Who are we gonna get rid of?" He asked in rhetoric as he went through the various slots to pick out one he just didn't particularly care for. "No...No...No...you're staying...no...no, oh yes...this one doesn't deserve the electric lights and fandom." A few new commands and the 'Lost Tribe of Real Alderaan House Wives' reality series plug was pulled and flushed down the digital pipeline into the junk data pool. "I'd call it a worthy sacrifice, but that'd be an insult to actual programming."

Galaxy premiers reigned on the holo screens around the complex, showing various new commercials that had been painstakingly put together. As well, tons of credits were funneled in for prime time spots on this feed. When the time came for the realty show garbage to air, in it's place a delightful and hilariously creative spot for Puff-cakes was introduced, inviting everyone in the known Galaxy that could get a holo-feed to check out the mom and pop type shop on Coruscant. Their business would assuredly boom, as even bad press from a sliced promo reel would undoubtedly bring them tons of consumers. An amalgam of reactions littered the crowd as holo-cams began to frantically search under the watchful eye of programming executives who had just lost millions of credits began to search for the intruder.

"You've got cams incoming."

"Good, let's get them something to talk about." Dash commented, standing up and giving a wave to the cams, who immediately focused on him. DARCI however unlocked a feature on the orb and shone beams of infrared light into the cameras at various angles all at once. Dash's face was obscured in a bright swathe of light as his frame darted across the circular top of the cone shaped dome. The crowd roared in excitement, and the slicer was moving into the shadows. No security rent-a-mandie was going to find him up there, and the security forces that could fly were several minutes out. He had picked this spot for a reason after all.

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

She had lost her seat, she was hungry and it was really loud around here. Kana had no reason to linger anymore and so she set her sights for the elevators. She could take the stairs but even a jedi had the right to refuse those. The smell of food caught her attention the closer she got to the exit and she had to pause for a second. Did she actually have leave right now? There were greasy treats right there.

She toyed with the idea for a few more seconds before slowly approaching a small little hut in a rather crowded part of the stadium. There was a big pillar of cooking fumes emanating from the big stove behind the ‘overgrown’ vendor which just made her stomach’s growl all the more unbearable. Carefully considering her options from the limited list of alternatives open to her Kana was about to put her order in as a stranger began talking to her.

“Master jedi we need your help.”

Kana gave the man a confused look. She wasn't a master by far, if anything a mediocre knight but the question on her mind was mostly how he would know that she was a jedi. Turning around to face the man she could feel the hilt of her saber dangle from her belt and she let out a small yet bitter ‘Oh.’

“What is the problem?” Kana couldn’t help sounding just a bit annoyed.

“It’s our systems, we’ve got an intruder.” The man motioned at her to follow him and she reluctantly complied but not before throwing a longing gaze back at the fast food stand.

“I’m sorry, I’m not specialized in counter-slicey-thingy-stuff.” Kana tried to brush the request for help off. Not a very jedi-like course of action but she truly didn’t know anything about it.

“It’s not that. We know where he is we just… You’ll get it once you’ve seen the footage.”

Footage? Now they had managed to get her interest up. The man lead her into a dark room riddled with screens. The warm blue glow from each screen as it showed a stranger on the roof before the cameras blurred out. There was no facial recognition or anything, just a blurry figure running around the edges of the stadium trying to stay out of sight.

“That’s… New.” Kana archer her eyebrows in surprise. “Has he done anything?”

“He messed with the programming.” The executives was of course referring to the list of ads to be displayed. Kana however was utterly convinced they were talking actual programming.

“Have you tried reverting to an earlier branch of the database’s subversion handler?”

The executives gave her a most puzzled look and she sighed in defeat.

“Fine, I’ll get up there and see if I can talk some sense into him.”

Hastily making her way towards the stairs Kana kept climbing until the only thing between her and this stranger was the occasional gusts of wind that would pass through her. Well, that and the distance. This arena was huge!

[member="Dashal Vance"]

 

[Dashal Vance]

An antic that gave new and literal meaning to the term 'stealing the show' had focused most of the crowd from Vortad Stadium on the brief glimpses of a shadowed figure running across the ridge that connected the cone shaped arena. People were shouting, network executives were probably watching their own credit line plummet faster than the ratings of that holo-cast garbage he had permanently deleted, and it all had hinged during the spirited halftime show. So what was going on in the stadium on the field itself? Well confusion for one thing, but that wasn't stopping the entertainment section. Even if the players tried to take the field, the marching band would refuse to yield -- casting their skyward gaze towards the bill boards as it lit up. The fans in the paying seats wanted to know what was going on, as much as most of the technicians running this gigantic credit pit. Dash honestly thought there were a thousand and one better uses for the cash, but he was also a fan of the game itself. He certainly didn't follow it near as well as DARCI did. She had three fantasy leagues of her own creation, and they were already outperforming the entire market. Thankfully she chose to encode them into invisible accounts. Or rather, Dash made sure they weren't traceable - as one could never be too careful with a hardcore sports fanatic operating a complex droid brain synced up to the holonet.

Resting over his ears, mostly to drown out the crowd's cheering and jeering, was a pair of wireless headphones pumping brain-tingling music into the Hapan's head. This particular tune also happened to be a favorite for his favored brand of urban transportation. Swift feat, a lean frame, and an even faster mind had pre-plotted several courses that would take him up and around the arena to get away from pesky guard-bots, or droids that would seek to entangle the slicer in their messy anti-criminal affairs. This wasn't a crime, this was a public service after all. People didn't get it most of the time - especially the ones who lost money on the outcome. Information wasn't to be bought and paid for like some moderate or overly expensive priced goods. Data was transformable, and it wasn't inherently measurable. Sure data could be condensed into packets and thus into bits and bytes - but the sheer essence of it was a thing of magic - and the Galaxy at large had sought to put a price-tag on magic. You just didn't do that - not in the Hapan's book of code. Yes, his moral compass did not point north, but good intentions and the hilarity to make it passable were enough for him to run on.

Speaking of running, that's exactly what he was doing. Catching air as he hopped right over a gap of about four feet, and tucking into a shoulder roll. The youth sprang up and caught the ledge that banked over the sloped ramp leading down towards the base of the arena. A pair of security bots were careening towards him, and he released his digits and drew his leg forward. A massive three story slide whipped beneath him while the slicer laughed in jovial glee. The risk, the danger, and the epic excitement always elated a good chuckle from his lips. Just alongside him, the fast moving black orb matched Dash's speed and trajectory, hovering only a foot off the surface before it started to project map after map in a dazzling blue holographic screen. Each one symbolized the layout and level of what he was sliding past. Passing through each, his eyes adjusted to the scene plotting the course for what he needed to accomplish so he didn't become a permanent indentation on the base below. He wanted to make his mark on the Galaxy, but not in the flimsi thin manner of colliding with hard duracrete that was rushing up towards him.

"Waaait for iiiiiiiiit." He called out, reveling in the feeling of a weightless rush as the wind whipped against his frame that slid down, timing his moment perfectly. "Waaait for iiiiiit." He called again, as if signaling some form of audience to watch his maneuver. Again, a third time with the prolonged words. "Waaait for iiiiiit........" A pause and his hand suddenly slammed down on the metal beneath him. "Now!" A hidden switch pressed down and activated a panel that immediately encompassed his sliding form to turn the other direction. Despite the semi-solid thud, he was still intact, and sliding down the other direction within the stadium - effectively vanishing from outside patrol and ducking into the chasm like labyrinth that was Vortad's maintenance hatch. Right inside, the darkened tunnel was immediately lit up by the spectrographic brilliance by thanks of the SPHERE to coordinate his decent into the bowels of the stadium. "Left..Right...Left Left...Right, and BAM! Cheat code accepted!" Dash kicked open a grate and landed feet first into an equipment room where bundles of cables, spare support struts, and a farm of servers were located. He wasn't staying however, he needed to get himself into the reserved seating without being detected. He'd weather the storm, watch the rest of the game from the good seats, and none would be the wiser.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" DARCI chimed in behind him. Dash turned, as he had heard the synthesized voice cutting his music out in his headset. A look of confusion rang on his face as he looked at the sphere trying to process that question, and come to the reasonable conclusion that he had seemingly let slip from his mind. A few moments of a creased brow before his fingers came together in a snap that echoed in the small room.

"Snacks!"

"Why do I even bother?"

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

A quick glance was enough for the vertigo to kick in and Kana quickly straightened her back and cleared her mind as she tried to get a feeling for where this man could have been headed.

“Now, the execs saw him over there… He ran this way and should be over there...”

Her line of spoken thought was interrupted as the arena suddenly seemed a bit quieter than usual. Everyone had their attention set on something but what? She quickly scanned the area, again. It was her elusive little friend that she had to hunt down. The gusts against her sleeveless arms were colder than she’d liked them to be. She had come prepared for the warmth of the stadium, not the evening breeze.

With the shake of her head she gently stroked her arm for warmth. This was the part where Kana cursed her inexperience at using the force beyond barriers and lightsabers. She would have to do this the hard way. With slow but steady steps she began walking along the ridge of the stadium. If she was lucky the crowds would focus on the stranger instead of her. Such thoughts would be a bit naive at this point. After all, who wouldn’t prefer to look at this over that sweaty thing they were up to down there?

She picked up the pace as she tried to make her way across the edge of the arena. Soon she too was in a sprint and if she didn’t know better she had come to get some of the attentions from the spectators down below as well. She sprung herself with the force to cross the gap. Gasps of awe could be heard and the fact that they were in fact watching her would become a lot more obvious.

Catching the landing in a stumble she managed to trip enough to almost hit her head on the small ledge that the man had climbed.

“Too close.” Kana muttered underneath her breath as she climbed the ledge. As she reached the top her facial expression turned from weary to annoyed. “Oh I don’t like where this is going.”

She managed to catch a glimpse of the man as he slid down a small hatch. She had to clear her head and think. Was it worth it to do this? A jedi was supposed to serve but this; now this was not to serve, this was suicide. With a sigh she gave into it. She had sworn to uphold the law and the order. To not do it now would be to go against her code, wouldn’t it? Then again, she also had to admit that she was pretty good at not following it to a hundred percent. This could be one of those times.

Kana shook her head at her decision to go for it. By luck she would be able to catch up with this man somehow. She jumped down and let herself slide along the slopes that was the arena. Reaching out out through the force Kana tried to get a better feel for where the hatch was. She had to admit it felt like an odd thing to reach out for but it worked.

As the hatch quickly approached her she tried to dampen her speed but it would seem just like any other landing she would botch this one as well. With a small thud she managed to slide down the same hatch as her suspect. Was this a maintenance hatch? Something wasn’t quite right here, was it supposed to be this dark? Wait, of course, it’s a maintenance hatch.

Putting her trust into the force she managed to make her way through the small tunnels until she came across an open grate. This was as good of a time to regain her breath as any. It felt like a stupid idea, but she wanted to jump down. It wasn’t the best but she had to do it.

With her eyes closed Kana jumped down the hatch unaware that the man would in fact be in the very same room she landed in. She caught the fall even if just barely and opened her eyes. Kana’s face scrunched up in surprise as she found the man standing there. With the straightening of her olive sleeveless tunic her saber hilt made itself seen.

“Found you!” She announced happily before placing her hands on her hips. “You can stop running now… Please.”

She took a few deep breaths. Hopefully the man would do as he was told.

[ [member="Dashal Vance"] ]​