Cheerleaders.

Could you imagine what a mixed squad of cheerleaders could do? Considering the power of some of the various alien races, there would have to be maneuvers that they would be unable to do- otherwise they'd be in the risk of launching their teammates into the stratosphere!

I can see where cheerleaders wouldn't be as visible in the lower tiers. Cheerleaders aren't as noticeable when you get to the school/university/non-major teams, if they are there at all. But in tier 1? I can see where they would be more of a necessity. Plus I can see Greedok using the cheerleader hotties to influence members of the team- after all, people can do strange things for a pretty face.

-A little more off site time, exploring the dynamic between Q and the rest of the guys, kinda like Drinking with Tweedy.

-Love the idea of Jew Tweedy coming over to be the RB

-Greedok working behind the scenese to trade all of Q's "friends" on the team away so he has less stroke.

-Yasood putting the team in danger (playing off an earlier idea) from his gambling witha  bunch of Pirates.

-And just for fun, the kickback running into (literally or figuritivly) the ruined hulk of the James Keeling.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Hotchman

But wouldn't Gredok trading off Q's "friends" just worsen his team? I don't think he'd be willing to do that. The impression I got was that Gredok more wanted to figure out how to use Q's loyalty to get him to do things (what things, I don't know) and to manipulate him, not to take that loyalty and make Q...depressed. That and, when they first enter Tier One, aren't they basically "safe" for a year, to stop other teams from totally stealing all their players?

But running into the ruined hulk of the James Keeling would be an awesome tie-in/siglerverse mention!

"Urban legends go well with parmesan and horror. In fact their name is conveniently one and the same: Stevie." {UNdead GirlCo Knight for Sigler}

So I'm re-reading through the rookie for the first time and I caught a detail I forgot: Since the Krakens made it to Tier 1 in Quentin's first season, he is a "protected" player and cannot renegotiate his contract.  Now Quentin didn't care about this in the book, but could this come back to bite him in the ass?

...is the money.

As you might remember, Quentin was signed by the Micovi Raiders for a mere million.  Now he'll be stuck there with no opportuntity to renegotiate in the near future. While he was with the Raiders, money wasn't his motivation factor as there really wasn't anything he needed or wanted that wasn't contraband...he gave away his trophy for pete's sake!

Quentin initially was truly only motivated by his dream to get to tier one. But now that the dream has been fulfilled and his horizons have been broadened (like the cheap price of good Miller beer), one has to wonder if he'll regret not making the big bucks. Or dare I say, that Quentin might even become belligerent because of it...maybe even demotivated by it? Oh the possibilities.
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I am Gmork, professional multitasker and smorker

And I'm just wondering - Yassoud seems to get over Fayed's (I hope that's spelled right) injury okay, but as soon as he does he gets injured. Will this come into play in The Starter? Yassoud having to build up his confidence, again, has got to be hard when in the meatgrinder that is Tier One...

"Urban legends go well with parmesan and horror. In fact their name is conveniently one and the same: Stevie." {UNdead GirlCo Knight for Sigler}

The one that doesn't count for anything. As I recall it was a pretty good day for him. I think they even called it a freak injury (non-contact), so maybe he's mentally fit. There's definitely something to be explored there - will the team go recruit someone to replace Fayed, or will they have to pull from their own ranks to find a replacement? CAN they even bring in new blood at this point?

BigJohn

In addition to the backstory of Quentin and his family, I'd like to learn more about Gredok and his rise to power. If not in The Starter, perhaps one of the later books.

Thankies. I have such a terrible memory! O_O But you bring up more excellent points. Protected as they are in Tier One, can they even add someone to their team the first year?

"Urban legends go well with parmesan and horror. In fact their name is conveniently one and the same: Stevie." {UNdead GirlCo Knight for Sigler}

I wonder if they can do a Tier-One transfer, from another tier one team. Maybe there aren't any restrictions at all. Hmmm...

BigJohn

everybody seems to know Gredok is not a man to be messed it.
I'd love to know how that knowledge got to be some common place.

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the trick to staying sane is to just out-crazy the world

body mods like the MMA fighters had in title fight and what is/isn't legal in the GFL and how guys might go about hiding such things.

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the trick to staying sane is to just out-crazy the world

Not to mention is there a way to make money a motivating factor Like Bail for his parents?  or he gets drunk and get sinto an accident whichkills a young child and he wants to compensate the parents?  or he wants to pay off the debts of another Purist nation "Orphan" and needs more cash to do so? Maybe he takes up golf and needs money for solid gold clubs or something!

I don't Know! but it seems like a glaring lead into the next book which I think our Great FDO will capitalize on! 

...there's alwways the smuggling angle, seeing as how the Team Buses can't be inspected by the Bats but Quentin wasn't really into that and only did it to free up Donald Pine.  Unless he really loosens up morally, smuggling could really mess with Quentin's brain.  Either way, makes for a great sub-story.
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I am Gmork, professional multitasker and smorker

he matured a great deal by the end of the first book, now that he's going to be in the BIG TIME big time, I can see he doing something he may have been against before, especially if this can be combined with his sub-par pay in his contract.

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the trick to staying sane is to just out-crazy the world

But he was certainly ok with smuggled contraband. After all, he'd paid the crazy prices for the mag cans of millers - 10 credits or something like that - back on MCOVI, so he's no innocent when it comes to black market dealings. He's presumably already got contacts who might try to exploit his new found immunity.

BigJohn

It was mentioned in the rookie that also chemical mods were illegal too...Could another team slip something into a kraken's player water bottle to have them disqualified?  Disqaulified or even KILLED?  could be an interesting plot twist...

During the book he did have someone eaten alive by nano-bugs didn't he? 

But an event like that isn't normally enough to get someone that sort of universal notoriety.  I reckon Gredok has done some foul, foul shit on his way to the top (more so, had someone else do it at his command) and I’m itching to know how bad it actually gets.

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the trick to staying sane is to just out-crazy the world

If there might be some story behind the "split-head" part of his name. Kinda goes along with the gangster/mafia motif, I would say.

BigJohn

I thought Quentin was offered a contract only by the To Pirates... did i miss something? lol

I'm a huge fan of mafia movies so I'd like to hear more about the mafia and it's inner workings. 

I like the way you think.

"Urban legends go well with parmesan and horror. In fact their name is conveniently one and the same: Stevie." {UNdead GirlCo Knight for Sigler}