| Tuesday Night Lights |
| Summary: | Deckies from the Areion and Cerberus duke it out over a friendly two-on-two game of Pyramid. |
| Date: | 04 Jan 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | None. |
| Players: |
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| Pyramid Court - Deck 12 - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| Post-Holocaust Day: #312 |
| In the center of the room is a regulation size Pyramid Court. The large uprights come from the same commercial manufacturer that makes them for the professional league. However, rather than holding team insignia, the Cerberus' Group identification has been painted into the center of each one. Around the outer edge of the room are a set of risers and benches so that hotly contested games can be watched by up to one hundred crewmembers. |
| Condition Level: 2 - Danger Close |
The battlestar's Pyramid arena sees a lot of use and abuse, but chances are nobody's ever rung a ball so hard off that backboard as the pair of Areion deckhands in sweats now going at each other one-on-one, mano-a-mano, tooth and nail — you know the drill. A thick and muscled woman banks the black-red ball off the ground before attempting a shot, only to see it intercepted by a wiry little fellow with surprising strength in his runner's physique. He's promptly taken to the ground by a snarling tangle of brown hair and powerful limbs, but — despite the obvious foul — hops up looking none the worse for wear, ready to play on. Around the two of them has gathered a group of fifteen Cerberus knuckledraggers like gamblers around a cockfight, cheering on their chosen bird with reckless abandon:
"Come on, Niner! You wrassle that raving bitch!"
"You shitting me, Byrd? She'll rip his balls off before she lets him win."
And on and on they go, all spit and fire and fury.
A sweaty Damon walks in wearing PT gear, a towel around his neck. Looks like he just finished a workout and stopped by for a quick game of Pyramid before heading to the Deck. "What's the game, boys?" he asks the knuckledraggers, nodding to the arena. His way of asking what the score is and how the match is going. "How come none of you are in there showin' them how to play some real Pyramid, Cerberus-style?" Crossing his arms, he stands by the benches and watches for a moment before starting to comment. "They must not have a regulation-size Pyramid arena on the Aerion if that's what passes for shooting over there," he says loudly to his fellow deckhands.
"Lets me win?" calls dreadlocked Niner as he's smashed to the ground once more by the wolverine in woman's form opposite him. But as her furious hands scrabble for the ball, he chucks it into the air — and watches with a cocky grin from the deck as it curves an impossible curve to land with a resounding clank in the head. "Bullshit. Every time Fee challenges me to a game, I wreck her six ways from Sunday." And to emphasize his point he slaps the woman on the ass. Hard.
"That turn you on?" the woman snarls, not entirely without affection. "Shit, Niner, I can almost feel your two inches getting all stiff on me." And with a gruff laugh she rolls off her partner in crime, wiping sweat off her well-defined biceps as she rises in one smooth motion. "Any of you ladies think you'll do better?" Flashing eyes settle on Damon as she tries to contain a smirk. "Looks like you got something to say, Chief."
"Me?" Damon asks innocently, making a show of looking around him to see if there are any other Chiefs around. Nope, just him. "Naw, I'm sure you two play just fine on Areion's kiddie court, yeah? I'm just sayin', when someone tries to block one of my shots, they get a nice ball-sized bruise to brag about." He pulls down the towel from around his neck and twirls it around. The tiredness in his face disappears a bit when he grins.
"First to five?" Niner's withdrawn the ball from the goal and is now bouncing it up and down on the ground with practiced insouciance. "I'll even take a handicap and play with Fee." And from his pocket he produces a black elastic band with which to tie back his unruly hair, bouncing that ball all the while.
"And maybe we put a little extra on it, huh?" Fee slides over to where Damon's standing, tracing her index finger down his sternum before attempting to shove him back. Gently, of course. The game has yet to actually begin. "Losing crew takes winning crew out for rounds at Colonial Pete's. And if loser loses by three or more, they pay for a lapdance too." What interest Fee has in a lapdance remains uncertain.
"First to five? Is that what you guys usually play. No wonder." Damon makes a show of hemming and hawing over it for a few seconds, grinning when Fee pushes him back. "That's a shit bet to make when the Fleet's on Condition 2," he says to her. "But I'll bite." He glances over to the spectators and points to Petra. "Timon, you're up. Let's show 'em how it's done." The towel gets tossed aside carelessly before he stretches a bit and steps into the arena. "Y'know," he says conversationally to Niner, "playing with Fee really isn't a handicap. At least, not from what I just saw. She's got more balls than you do, Niner."
"Damn straight she does," Niner concedes easily, bouncing the ball on the ground one last time. Jerking his head at his partner, he sets up shop near the central NZ while Fee prepares to take the faceoff. "I was born with five but she wouldn't stop bitching til I gave her my spares. Now she looks like a stoplight in really tight jeans."
Lining up opposite the best Cerberus has to offer, Fee allows herself a harsh, barking laugh, wiping her sweaty hands on her grimy work trousers. And with roars of anticipation rising from the crowd, Niner throws the ball high up in the air. Let the party begin.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Damon:Athletic+22
< Fee: Good Success Damon: Success
< Net Result: Fee wins.
It's the stocky woman who comes up with the ball, and not without controversy too. Her shoulder slams into Damon's chest just enough to knock him off balance — and by the time he recovers, she's already taken two of her three steps. The third is reserved for her patented bullrush to the center of the arena: with a feral snarl, she moves to shove the Chief out of the way as Niner breaks free from coverage —
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:5+10 vs Petra:5+10
< Niner: Success Petra: Success
< Net Result: DRAW
Into the neutral zone she goes. The ball soars through the air to land unhindered in Niner's hands by the far corner. One spin, two spins and he takes his shot, braided dreads flashing as he goes. But Petra gets a hand on it and the ball clangs harmlessly off the head to rest near Damon's feet. "Starting easy!" he calls, exchanging fist-bumps with his partner as he moves up to guard the Chief's second, leaving Damon for Fiona herself.
With a grunt, Damon backs up a step when Fee slams into him. He recovers quickly and sticks to her as she moves to the center of the arena, but not quickly enough to stop her or even get in her way. Luckily, Petra blocks the shot from going in. He scoops up the ball when it lands by his feet and whips it right back to Petra with his 'laser' straight-pass, not even bothering to try for the neutral zone.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Fee:7+20
< Damon: Great Success Fee: Good Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
The ball lands squarely in Petra's hands. She and Damon have definitely played together before; as casual as he made his choice look, he was planning this from the moment he walked in. She feints toward the head, pivots, and attempts to plow through Niner to hit the neutral zone for the shot.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Petra:5 vs Niner:5
< Petra: Good Success Niner: Success
< Net Result: Petra wins.
Feint, push, spin, shoot. BAM! It's not pretty, but it's a point. First blood has been drawn. Damon gives Petra a friendly punch to the arm with an accompanying, "Nice shot. Four more!" The ball gets turned over to the Aerion team, and they retake their positions to defend.
Niner's not quite strong enough to keep her out of the neutral zone, and it's with a rueful smirk that he grabs the ball from the head. But keeping dark eyes intent on the game, he holds up his injured hand, fingers to the sky, and spins it from side to side. Fee obligingly fades toward Petra as he dashes toward the Chief, making his body as small as possible so he can hit the arena's top-right NZ and pass without hindrance.
In the meantime, Fee's doing quite a bit of gabbing. "Flyboys liking those wiring tweaks we showed you?" she wonders, panting ever so slightly as she waits for the ball. "This time, Vipers. Next time, sex."
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:6 vs Damon:Reactive
< Niner: Great Success Damon: Good Success
< Net Result: Niner wins.
And through Damon's net he goes. Fee scoops up the ball with authority and, almost shoulder to shoulder with her opponent, attempts to use her superior strength to wrestle the other woman out of the way and into a backboard. Nobody said she had to play nice.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7 vs Petra:5
< Fee: Great Success Petra: Good Success
< Net Result: Fee wins.
Boom. And now the score is tied. A bit of saliva drips from the woman's mouth as she grins that crooked grin, and she wipes it off her face with a swipe of her bandaged hand. "Next time leave the shooting to someone whose dick ain't bent," she calls.
"But you don't have a — " Niner begins, shaking his head. "Just — never mind." And more quietly, with a low chuckle: "Better not have one."
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Petra:5+10 vs Fee:5+30
< Petra: Success Fee: Great Success
< Net Result: Fee wins.
"No complaints yet," Damon grunts in response to Fee's question, eyes focused on Niner. Despite his blocking effort, though, the man gets through into the neutral zone. As for Petra, the tiny Deckie is easily checked out of the way by Fee. The spectating knuckledraggers all "Oooooooh!" in chorus as she reels backwards against a backboard with a loud crash, almost falling over. "Good try, good try," Damon says to Petra, giving her a hand. "You start off this time. I'll go center and try to set up a shot. Pass high." That's just what she tries to do, but Fee steps in for the block. Literally steps in, her heel landing on Petra's toe a split second before the ball leaves her hand.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Alertness vs Niner:4
< Damon: Good Success Niner: Good Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"Uh-HUH!" A quick victorious hip-thrust causes Fee to step just a tiny bit harder on Petra's toe before she disengages, and as the ball starts to roll out of bounds the woman screams for Niner to grab it. Obligingly, the man hits deck to avoid her wrath, but he can't come up with it quickly enough. The Spectres' lead technician howls in frustration, slamming her fist against the board into which she's just sent Petra sprawling.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Alertness vs Niner:4
< Damon: Success Niner: Good Success
< Net Result: Niner wins.<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:5+20 vs Damon:Reactive+22
< Fee: Success Damon: Good Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
Denied her chance for a fast break, Fee grabs the ball from the doe-eyed specialist who just picked it up. This time, she'll do things herself, feinting a pass to Niner before whipping the ball around so it smacks off the backboard directly opposite the head. But the feint doesn't fool anyone, and it's not her but the Chief who comes down with the thing as it's Niner's turn to give his partner an incredulous look. "Stop trying to play smart," he chides. "Just knock the frakkers over, wot?"
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Niner:5+10
< Damon: Great Success Niner: Great Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"Don't be too harsh on her," Damon says with a wink to Fee. "She's just tryin' to impress me." Coming up with the ball, he turns his back to the head, pushes back two steps, then tries for a jump-slam for the goal. But Niner isn't having none of it. He takes his own advice and just knocks Damon over when he's in the air, taking possession from the Cerberus team. "Come on, Chief!" Petra shouts in frustration. "This ain't frakking dance class!"
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:6 vs Petra:4
< Niner: Good Success Petra: Terrible Failure
< Net Result: Niner wins big.<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Damon:Athletic+22
< Fee: Great Success Damon: Success
< Net Result: Fee wins.
"Hey man, not bad for a first-timer." Niner's one for the ass-slap, apparently, and as he passes Damon he gives the Cerberus' head-motherfrakker-in-charge a nice little love-tap for the road. "Ready for this, babe?" Time to return to that tried-and-true little trick: a step to the left, a step to the right, and then the upper-left NZ is in sight. Petra falls for the bait just like he planned it, falling flat on her face as Niner dances out of reach. And to add insult to injury, he even bounces the ball off the arena and under Damon's arm, where Fee snatches it up.
"Good boy!" Fee's all elbows and angles, now. Her first step carries her knee dangerously close to the Chief's groin; her second brings her right elbow into the man's gut. On the third and final step she crushes the ball into the head, where it spins and spins and spins before finally falling in.
"Holy shit," says Niner, shaking his head in admiration. "You never do that against me."
"Never needed to, sport," Fee calls back. And to raucous cheers and catcalls from the Cerberus audience she lifts her arms in the air, palms up — the universal signal to any crowd worth a damn to Make. Some. NOISE.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Reactive+22 vs Niner:6+10
< Damon: Great Success Niner: Good Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Niner:6+10
< Damon: Success Niner: Success
< Net Result: DRAW
And the crowd goes wild! It was a good play, and Damon begrudgingly acknowledges it aloud to the Areion team. Grabbing the ball, he gives Petra a nod. "All right, I think that's good for a warm-up," he says, spinning the ball on his finger and stretching his neck from side to side. But he's not good at faking nonchalance; his competitive nature is coming out, and it definitely shows that he doesn't want to lose today. So he tries to pull a stunt. He fakes Niner out and banks the ball off the left side backboard to move in for the kill. But this isn't Niner's first time playing. Instead of trying to stop Damon from receiving his own pass, he lunges for the head and grabs the shot mid-flight.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:6+10 vs Petra:5+10
< Niner: Success Petra: Great Success
< Net Result: Petra wins.
"Still thinking about Niner's hand on your ass?" Fee calls as she slides into position opposite the Chief, her grin at once challenging and teasing. "It's natural. He uses moisturizers." Meanwhile, Niner's already in motion, looping the ball behind his back before taking three quick steps to the right. But this time Petra isn't fooled. Even before the ball leaves his hand she's already moving to smother it mid-flight.
"Frak damn," curses the man with dreads, already moving to cover the inevitable shot.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Petra:5 vs Niner:5
< Petra: Good Success Niner: Great Success
< Net Result: Niner wins.
"That was Niner's hand?" Damon asks, cocking his head and trying to slide past Fee in case Petra wants to try for a pass. "I was hoping it was yours - it's so smooth and feminine." Petra, ball in hand, twists and smashes into Niner to push for the neutral zone. And goes nowhere. She crashes into his steady stance and fails to push him aside; the ball drops out of her hand for Niner to grab easily. With a snarl of rage, she bounds back on the defensive.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:5+10 vs Petra:5+10
< Niner: Great Success Petra: Success
< Net Result: Niner wins.<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Damon:Athletic+22
< Fee: Good Success Damon: Good Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"Your mom likes it very much," is Niner's easy rejoinder. This time he's not going to bother shooting, but — shooting Petra an infuriating grin — dances toward the tiny woman with the three requisite steps, as if daring her to stop him. She can't, of course. He's Areion, after all. Over her head flies the ball into Fee's waiting hands — but Damon's right there to stop her, and the two of them lock horns like clashing titans before he wrests the ball from her hands.
"Gods damn, Niner," the woman grumps. "Least you weren't looking at her tits on that pass."
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Fee:7+20
< Damon: Great Success Fee: Great Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"Mine," Damon growls, wrestling the ball from Fee's hands. He pulls it back as though preparing to shoot, but he hesitates for a split second to glance over to Petra. Bad call. Fee's on him in an instant, pushing to reclaim the ball. "Get… offa… me," he grunts, trying to shove her away with his elbow. Unable to take a step, he tries to lob the ball toward the head, but it ends up being snatched by a smug-looking Fee.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Damon:Athletic+22
< Fee: Great Success Damon: Success
< Net Result: Fee wins.<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:5 vs Petra:5
< Niner: Success Petra: Success
< Net Result: DRAW<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:4 vs Damon:Alertness
< Fee: Success Damon: Good Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
"Gods damn, Fee," Niner responds in the exact same tone of voice, wide expression open and mocking. "Stop grabbing the Chief's junk and play the game."
"But it's such nice junk." Fee snorts as she pushes off Damon's body with an elbow. "Been a long time since I frakked a regular. Whaddya say, big boy?" And as if to punctuate her offer she nearly headbutts Damon to get clear of the man's flailing arms. The ball's delivered like a bullet from a Viper in Niner's direction. This time, he tries the direct route. But Petra's dander is up and she's on him like a mongoose on a snake. The ball slips out of his grasp despite his best efforts, and Fee's just a bit too late on the take.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Fee:5+20
< Damon: Good Success Fee: Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
"Sorry, Fee," Damon says, scooping up the ball as he spins past her. "I'm spoken for." Petra, from across the court, snorts derisively. "You still seein' that blind chick?" she asks him. Whose side is she on, anyway? Damon goes straight for the head with a jump shot that rattles loudly as it reports another goal for the Cerberus team. "Good play all around," he says, heading back to Petra for a fistbump. "Can't let them get any more now if we want lapdances, yeah?"
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:5+10 vs Damon:Athletic+22
< Niner: Great Success Damon: Great Success
< Net Result: DRAW<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Petra:5+10
< Fee: Great Success Petra: Success
< Net Result: Fee wins.<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Petra:5+20
< Fee: Good Success Petra: Good Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"Shit," says Niner with a grin, screaming to make himself heard over the hooting and hollering of the Chief's lackeys ringing the arena. "He's taking a blind chick and one of Pete's pet whores over you, Fee. I say you do that thing you do."
"Can't do that thing I do if you don't get me a squirrel whose head I can cut off and mount on his locker door." Fee licks her lips at the memory, even as she watches Niner's pass deflect off Damon's hand and fly out of the arena. The same doe-eyed deckhand is dispatched by the crowd to bring back the ball, and when it's chucked back in the air, Areion's ferocious crew chief shoves Petra out of the way with a brutal punch to the solar plexus, snagging the ball before bowling the little girl over en route to the neutral zone. The ball turns into a red-black blur as it whizzes past Niner's head back into the woman's hand, but right as she moves to shoot, Petra sticks out a leg and brings her crashing down to the ground. Almost before she hits the deck she's leaping back up to another collective "Ooooh!" from the crowd, bent on bloody murder. Only Niner's intervention saves the match from descending into a fist-fight, and as it turns out, the woman's rage is short-lived anyway. "Next time you cheat, cheat right," she advises, her grin just a tiny bit mad.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Petra:Reactive vs Niner:6
< Petra: Great Success Niner: Great Success
< Net Result: DRAW<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:4 vs Damon:Alertness
< Fee: Good Success Damon: Bad Failure
< Net Result: Fee wins big.
"She's not blind anymore!" Damon protests, but the grin on his face shows that he knows it's all in jest. As he watches the action unfold, he chuckles to himself and claps his hands when Fee gets back up. "Now we're playing Pyramid!" he shouts, eliciting a cheer from the crowd. Of course, they're one down now and they're definitely not getting free lap-dances, but that's neither here nor there for him. As the ball is tossed over to Petra to start the next play, Damon turns to the crowd and gets them started up on a chant. "Cer-ber-us! Cer-ber-us! Cer-ber-us!" The chanting breaks out into cheering when Petra rushes for the neutral zone. Then it becomes a disappointed "Awww…" when Niner manages to slap the ball out of her hand, leaving her in the neutral zone empty-handed. Damon, already en route toward the head, doesn't even see the dropped ball until Fee's got it in her hands.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Damon:Athletic+27
< Fee: Good Success Damon: Great Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
Run the table, Niner, and we get the bonus prize!" Fee gives the gathered Cerberus crewmen one finger, then two, having pounced on the ball while Damon was otherwise engaged. "Think Pete'll limber up that blonde girl with the massive jugs?"
"Think these jokers can afford her?" Niner scoffs, raising his hand to echo his friend's one-finger salute. In his case, it's the hand whose ring finger has been cut to a stub. "We'll end up with a two-bit hooker from Aerilon if they're paying, but it's better than anything I've had in a long time."
"Last one you had was me," Fee points out, minding not in the least that Damon's just clocked her in the throat with the side of his arm in order to throw off her pass. At that revelation, the crowd bursts into a volley of hoots and hollering. "Shit! See, baby doll, that's how you cheat."
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Reactive vs Fee:5
< Damon: Great Success Fee: Failure
< Net Result: Damon wins big.
Damon gets the ball! He fakes left, then right, then slips past Fee to hit the neutral zone and throws a wicked sidearm-shot. And the crowd goes wiiiild! Damon raises his arms in the air, accepting the applause, and even drops to the floor and pumps out some push-ups. "No two-bit Aerilon hooker for you!" he shouts, pointing at Niner. "Two more points for the win. Let's do this!"
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:6 vs Petra:4
< Niner: Success Petra: Good Success
< Net Result: Petra wins.
"Not bad," says Niner, brown eyes twinkling. "But you, Fee. Frak damn that was beautiful. Might be a future for you as a ballerina if Pyramid doesn't work out." It's his turn to shine, and shine he will: mirroring Damon's steps almost exactly, because that's the last thing he figures the man will expect. This time he's making a play for the arena's bottom corner, a move that takes him well within range of the spittle flying forth from the mouths of Team Cerberus' rabid supporters. And Petra, of course, who follows him step for step and jumps the pass as soon as she sees it coming. Really, it's a trick that's Damon's used against her way too many times.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Petra:5+10 vs Niner:6+10
< Petra: Great Success Niner: Great Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"Can't think of any moves of your own?" Petra taunts Niner as she grabs the ball. She tries to pull some fancy move and bank the ball back to herself, but she's no flashy player. Niner waits until the ball leaves her hand, then springs into action, grabbing it before Petra gets it back in her hands. Damon immediately moves over to cover him, leaving Fee to Petra.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:6 vs Damon:Reactive
< Niner: Good Success Damon: Great Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
Up Niner goes, and though he's not terribly tall, he's plenty tall enough to wrest the ball right back from the woman opposite. His wiry frame contorts under the strain of landing, but moving ever so quickly he's charging back towards Damon to make the other team switch up the coverage. It's into the central neutral zone that he aims his body, not even bothering to feint. From there, it's a simple matter to ping the ball off the opposite backboard where his partner in crime is waiting — but again, Cerberus' man is just a step ahead. The man's frustration is now quite evident, and in a single fluid motion he's ripped his hairband off to let his dreads fly free.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Fee:5+30
< Damon: Great Success Fee: Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
The game's getting intense. The freeing of Niner's dreads signifies 'serious business', and it's certain that fouls will start flying left right and center now that they're down to the final two points. Damon sticks on Niner - and it looks like he purposefully lets him pass to the neutral zone. But he's not giving up the play; he snags the ball just before it reaches Niner, ducks past him, and hurls it across to Petra with so much force that she's actually forced back a step when she receives it. But instead of landing gracefully, Damon goes down into a heap on the floor after the pass. "Argklgh," he groans, rolling onto his back and rubbing the side of his jaw. "You have pointy frakking elbows," he accuses Fee.
Flagrant foul. 4-3 Cerberus!
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7 vs Petra:5+5
< Fee: Good Success Petra: Good Success
< Net Result: DRAW<FS3> Opposed Roll — Fee:7+20 vs Petra:5+10
< Fee: Good Success Petra: Good Success
< Net Result: DRAW
"And you're a frakking pussy who can't take hits like a man," says she, though she seems rather pleased with herself. The fact that Team Cerberus has now just taken its first lead of the game doesn't matter terribly much to her: mainly Fee just wanted to put Damon on the ground. "My turn to motherfrakking ball. You just stand in the corner while I unfrak the score."
Of course, that's easier said than done. Petra's playing like a woman possessed, not conceding an inch — and when Fee tumbles to the ground for the second time during the game, she slams the ball off the backboard while Niner calls out the second touch. Nostrils flaring, she paws the ground like a bull about to charge — and then once more unto the breach she goes, and once more comes the persistent Petra. The woman latches onto Fee's muscled arm and doesn't let go until she's physically flung to the ground. Once again Niner has to intercede: and once again the score is tied.
4-4. Game point.
By now, the noise of the crowd has turned into something of a dull roar as more and more off-duty deckhands pile into the compartment to see what all the fuss is about. And when the stakes are explained, they too lend their voices to the growing chorus of "Cer. Ber. Us!" that builds and builds…
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Damon:Athletic+22 vs Fee:7+20
< Damon: Great Success Fee: Good Success
< Net Result: Damon wins.
"No pressure, Pet, no pressure," Damon says as they take a moment to catch their breaths before starting the final play. Tie game, 4-4. Last point for the win. "It's just, like, half our department watching us and we'll never hear the end of it from the Areion crew if we give up this point, that's all." He rubs his jaw one last time before palming the ball and holding it up above his head. The other hand beckons to Fee. "Come and get it, little girl," he calls out. As Fee comes closer, he tips the ball at the last second toward Petra. Petra charges Niner again to take the corner neutral zone… and gets the same reaction as last time. She hits the wall and goes nowhere; Niner ends up with the ball.
<FS3> Opposed Roll — Niner:6 vs Petra:5+5
< Niner: Good Success Petra: Bad Failure
< Net Result: Niner wins big.
There's no time to think. Niner becomes a vortex of dreadlocks and sweat as he swats the ball from Petra's grasp, aims once, and unleashes the winning volley. Over her head it goes, over Fee's incredulous eyes, until — with a resounding thunk — it hits the mark, taking the air out of the gathered Cerberus deckhands with what announcers call a "dagger to the heart." And over by Damon, Fee collapses to the ground with a bellow of triumph loud enough to wake the dead, sliding forward on her knees while ripping off her sweats in a fit of ecstasy. Yes, she's wearing a sports bra. Yes, it's still worth looking. And Niner? The man breathes gently over the stub of where his ring finger used to be, as if blowing smoke from the tip of a gun. "Still got it," he says, a smug grin on his face. "But hey. You did good for regulars, wot?"
"No," says Fee, a look of horror interrupting her celebration. "No. No. Bad Niner. Here comes the — "
"First round's yours like we said," the man continues, heedless of his partner. "Next one's mine. Shit, you've got some moves." Spoken to Petra and Damon both, and for once there's evident sincerity in his tone.
"Gods damn it." Fee's buried her head in her hands, almost sobbing. "Altruistic shit-eating pussy-licking son. Of a. WHORE!"
"I didn't really mean 'no pressure'," Damon whispers to Petra with a grin. She gets a friendly and sweaty clap on the shoulder. "Kidding. Good playin'." He offers fistbumps to the Areion team with a sufficiently chastened look. "First round's on me when we get out of Condition 2, yeah? Good game." Fee's reaction to the victory (and Niner's words) draws a good laugh out of him, and he reaches down to give her a hand up. "You know what? I think we should start up a Fleet Pyramid league. Or at least a Cerberus-Areion competition."
The hand's accepted with gratitude, if not grace. With an easy laugh, CPO Sheehan chucks her dirty sweats into the thronging Cerberus crowd. Unsurprisingly, it's the doe-eyed deckie who comes away with the trophies, her goggle-eyes widening in a weird, weird sort of glee. "I'll be here all night," she says, throwing Niner a dirty look as the man moves to put his hand around Petra's shoulder in an unnecessarily physical attempt to ask where the spare towels are kept. "And about that league? You're on, big man. Shit, our arena looks like a pedo's favorite playpen next to yours. But shit if I enlisted in the capital-eff Fleet to bum around on a frakking luxury liner, eh?" The elbow she thrusts into Damon's gut is friendly. Seriously. "Have your people talk to my people. Hope you got plenty of vouchers."
"We do have a pretty bitchin' Pyramid arena," Damon confirms. The elbow in his gut is returned with a punch to Fiona's arm - in the same friendly manner, of course. "About damn time it started seeing some serious use again. Anyway, I'll cook something up and CC you on the memos, yeah? Now that we can't drink, we might as well be doing something with our spare time." He saunters over to pick up his previously discarded towel which he slings back across his neck. "As for vouchers, well… we've got this little piece of machinery on the Deck, see, which is 'officially' purposed for creating paint thinner, but can do some pretty interesting things when nobody's watching…"
"Paint thinner." Fee watches Petra steering Niner — Gods, she thinks, I almost don't remember his real name. — to the towels with vague amusement. "Sounds about right. It's not real moonshine 'less it burns out your eyes when you smell it, is how my old Chief taught me to do. Anyway, one of your frakking suit inserts wants me in fifteen. Looks like Command finally gave us the go to start amping up some Raptors. Yo Niner!"
Tyrone turns, venom in his gaze. "I don't have to go," he says. "I'm a Viper tech."
"Uh-huh. And puppies shit rainbows. Git." And with one last grin sent Damon's direction, Fiona Sheehan's off to the races, pausing only to drape a towel over her bare shoulders before she saunters out the hatch.
Rose isn't in the crowd, right? Even though Damon knows she's not there, he still takes a quick scan over the stands before tilting his head and watching Fee leave without a shirt on. Hmm.