Chapter 3: Baseball camp
"Are you sure you can trust Charzon? Something doesn't seem right with her. She might have been a clubhouse assistant back on Cato Neimoidia, alongside the ladies of the basement, and hence know the inner workings of the cartel, but how do we know she hasn't been hired as a bounty hunter for the Neimoidians, rather than for the Geonosians?"
"Mesa sense in shesa that the working conditions of the Neimoidians were horrible as far as the clubhouse staff is concerned, or that shesa saw in the attack on the stadium a signal to break away from Neimoidian service"
"We have now arrived in the Palanhi system. Prepare to set course for Lorimax. It would seem suspicious if we dock in the baseball camp's docking bay; not only would it appear suspicious that a baseball prospect can pilot a snubfighter, I would be instantly recognized as Geonosian… and I will stay at a distance unless you're in mortal danger"
"Roger, roger…"
"Once on Lorimax, find a location that isn't too far from the baseball camp and yet would be difficult for the Neimoidians to detect. Please, put on your baseball uniform."
While Ugohr would change clothes from his Jedi robes to a baseball uniform, Garam goes right into the cockpit of his Advanced Geonosian Fighter. Of course, packing up, for Jedi, is rather simple, just that Ugohr has to be ready: a supply of baseballs, a baseball glove, wearing his baseball uniform… and then the pair of Jedi undock from the Tiplar's hangar bay while the ship has come to a complete stop on the ground. Ugohr wanted to track Charzon until he could ascertain her destination, but Garam didn't seem to trust her as much as Ugohr would.
Once they arrive on Lorimax, after flying for a little more than a parsec, Ugohr scans the area purported to have a baseball training camp operated by the Cartel. It would seem that the ballpark in the files seized from the stadium raid is located in the middle of a corn field. By chance there was some abandoned barn and, indeed, farm, within walking range of the baseball training camp where the duet landed their craft. As for the abandoned farm itself, it has clearly seen better days and could use an occupant for repairs, along with what R9 units the duet brought with them. Yes, the Advanced Geonosian Starfighter did feature an astromech droid socket, unlike their ancestors, the Nantex-class fighter.
"R9, mesa want yousa to stay with the craft"
"Ugohr, may the Force be with you. Play the best baseball you will ever play"
And so Ugohr would carry on his back a bag that would be more appropriate for a batter than for a pitcher, because it is large enough to store baseball bats in addition to gloves, a uniform and a set of baseballs. But clearly a lightsaber is the item with the greatest length he can actually find to be of use, especially at night if he needs to find his way back. Even though a lightsaber hilt is about 30 cm long, it still isn't nearly as long as a baseball bat is. Ugohr walks along a dirt path that is lined up only with corn plantations until he sees a compound lined up with batting cages, each equipped with a pitching machine, and the rows of batting cages are awfully close to the foul lines. To a local countryside resident of Lorimax, the baseball training center would be like a dream for someone who never went to a ball game. But to Ugohr, it wasn't; the sheer number of batting cages lining up the outfield is probably an indication of how many baseball players are expected to be trained in the camp at any one time.
It was a blessing for Ugohr to fall upon a living being; said being is an orphaned Neimoidian standing guard over the main entrance of the baseball training camp's main stadium. But Ugohr had to think of an alternate identity for infiltrating the training camp because using his real identity would make him persona non grata to Neimoidians, especially in the post-Praesitlyn environment, where Ugohr was referred to by name and where he would be moving around with a target on his back as far as Neimoidian-operated baseball facilities are concerned. Yet, by that logic, he also knows that he is welcome on Geonosis or Praesitlyn (or whatever other baseball facilities are operated by the Geonosians) at least until the internal baseball conflict ends. For the time being, he simply had to omit what he knows about the Geonosians.
"State the purpose of your business"
"Mesa Yodel Splee and mesa young Gungan pitcher wishing to undertake the training program"
"A baseball prospect? You are so off-schedule, young Gungan."
"Yousa let me undertake the Combine tests" Ugohr told the Neimoidian sentry while waving his hand and staring coldly at him.
"I will let you undertake the Combine tests"
"Yousa let me visit the training compound"
"I will let you visit the training compound"
The young Gungan gets, thanks to a Jedi mind trick, to visit the training facilities before he undertakes the battery of tests known as the Combine. The first stop in the visit: the front office. Located to the right-hand side of the main entrance, it is the office of the facility's director. Unfortunately, the director wasn't in his office when the mind-tricked guard showed Ugohr around. He is told that he should avoid coming to the front office should he be accepted into the training camp.
"You get only three visits to the front office until you're relegated to maintenance duty. If you end up on maintenance duty, you can kiss goodbye your career as a… forgive me, I forgot what position you're here to train for"
"A pitcher. Mesa still a raw talent, so mesa not know if mesa become a starter, a long reliever, a setup reliever or a closer"
"As I said, if you get relegated to maintenance duty, you can kiss goodbye your career as a pitcher"
"But how do players know whether theysa ready to play at a higher level?"
"I haven't been clear. Players that prove themselves in the camp will be contacted in due time by the director of the facility and they do not count towards the three-visit limit"
To Ugohr it is clear by now that the players invited to the camp live inside a baseball stadium when they are not inside batting cages or out on the many baseball diamonds this facility possesses. On the left-hand side there is the box office, directly across the hall from the director's office. The two clubhouses were linked by cells, each grouped by the playing positions their occupants were groomed for. But that's ground level: he also got shown the basement, which contained a gym, as well as facilities for equipment maintenance and building maintenance.
When the Neimoidian security guard shows the way around the auxiliary baseball diamonds, Ugohr realizes that the baseball diamonds all have the same infield specifications, and the outfields depended on what these training diamonds were being used for. Once it is over, the security guard was called in at the director's office. Unfazed by the Gungan's appearance, he unleashed his anger towards the security guard that shown the way around the compound to the Gungan thanks to a Jedi mind trick.
"Sir, I have a Gungan pitcher prospect that seems highly interested in taking part in the combine tests. He insisted that I walked him through the facilities while on patrol"
"Idiot! You left your station to show that Gungan his way around the camp! Thirty whip lashes for you!" the director ordered before he turns his attention to Ugohr. "As for the Gungan, he will be administered the Combine tests at night. Until then, stay in the main bullpen. His baggage will be kept in the security station" He turns his attention back to the Neimoidian security guard again. "Under your watch, alongside any additional would-be prospects that come until the player curfew."
Ugohr saw that the main bullpen was occupied by people of different species: human, Neimoidian, Chiss, Mirialan to name the species of the occupants at the time Ugohr was placed in the bullpen. Said bullpen could hold six or seven pitchers, about half a team's roster of pitchers, as is standard with Cartel-operated teams, but only five are there at the time, counting Ugohr. The Mirialan male pitcher was the first to approach him, also having noticed him first. The green-skinned teenager began asking questions about him:
"Gungans… it's been a while since I've seen a Gungan at a baseball game. What is your name?"
"Yodel Splee. And yousa?"
"Katzpah. Would you like to pitch some balls with me?"
"Yes"
Katzpah and Ugohr threw baseballs at each other in the dimly-lit room which, as a result, is almost as dark as in a late-night game; they simply pitch as hard as they can while still being able to catch them. Catching the baseballs? Sure, he can do that. And Katzpah recognizes that Ugohr could pitch the ball as hard as he does. And their little pitching game catches the attention of the other teenage players, Neimoidian or otherwise. Especially the Chiss lady, who was the last to realize what was going on between the two pitchers.
"Yodel has the potential to pitch just as well as we can, if not better. But to see whether that is actually the case, we will need to see him in the group drills" the Chiss pitcher commented.
"Or the Combine" added the human pitcher, swiftly going back to pitching afterward.
"Late-night games aren't for everyone. Perhaps he should play in a late-night game if he gets out of here…" the Neimoidian pitcher commented.
"What are all of yousa names?"
"You've already met with Katzpah. I am Jusell, the Neimoidian over there is Gukko and the human is Tisan Aju"
And the five pitchers kept on pitching balls until the lights went out. Oftentimes the balls would bounce out of the walls; catch bouncing balls other players pitch would often do between each pitch they do themselves. They keep at it for many hours. When the security guards open the bullpen's door, almost by nightfall, Ugohr realizes that he is singled out by the cold gaze the guard makes at him, whereas another security guard escorts the other players to the dressing room.
"Yodel, there is visit for you. There is a young lady claiming to be looking for a Gungan pitcher"
"Mesa know who shesa. Charzon; shesa ball girl on Cato Neimoidia. Shesa want to become an outfield player and shesa survive the attack on the stadium"
"Charzon used to be a ball girl on Cato Neimoidia? She'd probably make a good outfielder if she can show some offensive promise, but she has the fundamentals to succeed in a more defensive posture"
Ugohr was closely followed by the Neimoidian guard that is to administer the Combine tests on the two of them. In the Force, Ugohr can see that the Neimoidians had some misgivings about letting them take the Combine tests at night, especially after all regulars at the camp are tucked away in windowless dormitories. Battle droids are taking over for security at night; the Neimoidian guides the baseball players to the main ballpark escorted by two battle droids, with two more battle droids coming in with a radar-equipped pitching machine.