Welcome to Matchday! special: The Terminus Cup review

(by Sinya T'Parus)

No regular APU matches this week, as The Terminus Cup (Nos Astra Pulsars vs. Highfield Harriers) on Illium draws all the attention of pildavi fans in C-space and the Terminus Systems alike. We saw a great game and the revival of a historic rivalry, so everyone could be satisfied from a fan’s perspective. Everyone? Maybe not.

Our special correspondent Laniya Crics is recapping the whole match for an exclusive CDN Matchday! review:

Quarter one:
First quarter got off to a blazing start, with both teams taking immediate advantage of the famously permissive refereeing in Cup matches to break out some combo plays that would have raised a lot of eyebrows had they been tried in routine APU matches. The Pulsars made immediate inroads with a 4-2 biotic launch, bringing their attacking pair down on the Harriers like a kinetic bombardment, but dismay turned to elation for Terminus fans as their team quickly gathered their wits and hit back with a thunderous layered charge that drove the Pulsars back in disarray to their own danger line before T’Hali ran a barrier-breaker with seconds to spare. Both teams having established their skill and firepower, the quarter settled - if that’s the right word - to a heavy-hitting battle in the centre as the lines bunkered down to support their offensive stars.

Quarter two:
Second quarter saw that famous unwritten tradition of the Cup arise, as what appeared to be a biting comment from the Harriers’ Nahrus to Jani during a locked field intersection resulted in the Pulsars centre forgetting the game for a moment and letting fly a sizzling lift-push, which sent the turian flying and brought her teammates, and consequently Jani’s, into a free-for-all brawl that lasted two minutes before the referees could restore order. Both inciting players received warnings, but no harsher measures were taken, demonstrating that the gap between Cups hasn’t made the referees forget that this sort of thing is simply inevitable, and best got out of both teams’ systems so the game can continue. The quarter played out with the scoreboard still at 0-0, despite both teams making ambitious assaults; Nahrus in particular showed it took more than being hurled across the playing field to shake her, and was instrumental in several powerful plays.

Quarter three:
The Pulsars came out in the second half proving they had admirable self-control, having obviously not been distracted by the halftime show and had had a solid tactical discussion instead. Resina spearheaded an audacious scything offensive that took the Harriers off-guard, but they were even more surprised when the attack, which would likely have scored in its own right in most weekly matches, proved to be a feint, with T’Hali sneaking a roundabout play to Velindu, who scored to put the Pulsars ahead and touch off the biggest eruption of cheering this new Helix Arena is ever likely to see. The Harriers took the lapse in stride as best they could, and returned with a solid line-breaker to keep the score from being followed up. It looked like the single point would stand for the quarter until the final minute, when D’Kiry surprised everyone - including herself, if her expression in closeups was anything to go by - with a singlehanded rendition of the normally-twin-played T’Esaman divided spin, catching the Pulsars wildly out of position for the seconds she needed to equalise the score.

Quarter four:
The tie looked set to take the match to extra time in the fourth, when all the Harriers’ attempts to follow their new star’s success with a repeat shattered against Jani and T’Hali’s combined barriers, while the Pulsars’ retaliations fell short of breaching Nahrus and Gefla’s lightning zone coverage. Tempers on both sides flared as attack after attack was frustrated, but the referees’ decision to remain hands-off with minor infractions seemed sound as the players focused their punishing biotic assaults on their plays, rather than their opponents. The stadium was on edge until three minutes to go, when an interception by Gefla was counter-lanced by T’Hali, Resina improvised a staggering valley slam midfield to open the way, and newcomer Deena Sacire, playing only her third top-grade match and until then the most defensive-minded of the Pulsars’ line, stunned the Harriers with a classic Thunderhammer from three-quarters out to bring the score to 2-1. The Harriers gave it their all to equalise in the time remaining, with ‘Aria’s Army’ bellowing encouragement from the stands, but the Pulsars closed ranks and weathered the storm to emerge victorious.

The Terminus Cup 2188: Nos Astra Pulsars vs. Highfield Harriers 2 : 1


Mie Lakunis was on site for our [livecast] and has an exclusive take on the half time action for CDN:
“Ladies and gents, this was a fantastic week on Illium and it felt good to relive the routine of being a Pulsars fan once a year. We could observe a great case study of the differences that have developed between the APU and IPC in style and tactics. For all I care, the traditional ways just suits me more but I am sure the Harriers will be back with a vengeance next year when the match is on their home turf.

Additionally, the city of Nos Astra with the Helix Arena were more than up to snuff for that event. This is a state of the art facility that will shine as a place, sports history can be made at. I sure look forward to see more of it, be it pildavi or ELITE.
But finally, I got the honor to put in my take on the halftime show. The first part saw a performance of the notorious Terminus Twins in a classic cheerleader style exhibition going by the theme ‘T.Wins’. Pulsars fans were at least civil and offered a fair amount of support, the Harriers fanblock went berserk of course. The choice of music wasn’t exactly my taste and had a few quiriky moments, especially when the shouting chorus from the stands didn’t appear as loud as intended. Maybe this would have worked much better for a home game. Still, all in all an entertaining performance.

The second set then was held by the two representatives of Nos Astra. Dare I say this was a freakin highlight? Goddess knows I tried to get some insider information but the Apricity girls stayed lip-tight and it was worth the effort. Calling it of a modern version of ‘Huntresses and Prey’ doesn’t do it justice. The first surprise came, when out of a foggy stage suddenly an Irati emerged, sporting a flashy Harriers logo! The crowd booed and yelled but then they even more cheered for the Huntresses to get her. The two dancers wowed the stadium and had the stomping audience at their hands in zero time! I have never seen such a complex display of electronic effects used on dancers – and I have seen a lot of those! Daia and Taleeze featured what can only be called risqué pieces of what seemed a bit like tech armor mod bikinis. I could actually observe the astonishment of some of my colleagues in commentary booths, expecting anything to flash anytime. But somehow complete decency – if this is an appropriate adjective – was kept by strategically placed opaque pieces of just… well, energy I guess. When finally the Irati was catched and ‘converted’ to a Pulsars fan, in a completely new version of the classic ‘praising’ ending part, the spectators were at their tops.

This contest of shows never was one to begin with to be honest, a landslide for the two Apricity girls, one a former Wildkats player and the other a well established CEO on Illium I hear … Illium, one just has to love you, strange pearl of the borderlands.”

NAPD had a all the personal on site that could be spared but no major incidents were reported, save a few temporary arrests over minor issues.

Yay, Pulsars!
All that work finally over, I don't even know what to do with my free time now...

On the game, it was obvious how different the leagues have become in style. Action oriented against traditional rules. It is great to see they could still find a common ground though. That brawl... well, getting a bit worked up is unavoidable I guess and nobody got hurt. Thanks to all the fans from the terminus for being good sports. The media was almost 'predicting' they would vandalize the spaceport after they lost but that was so exaggerated!

And that killer freak styed hidden for that time, which is another good thing!

That was incredible! Even bigger than a Stars performance. Makes me kind of miss that kind of mass-audience show, but like you found out, it takes a lot of time to prepare (especially in the case of the Stars, with everything else I'm trying to to it just wouldn't be fair to them - or anyone else - to try to fit that kind of commitment into my schedule as well). Nice to know I've still got it. ;)

I remember being told an interesting thing about the brawls, incidentally - by a Harriers player as it happens, back when I lived on Serifia. It's kind of a given in IPC matches that someone's going to throw a punch and/or push at someone else at some point (it's kind of an unofficial attraction), but the player I was talking to made an interesting point: the lasting injury rate from on-field 'fighting' is actually very low. There's big credits behind every match, and nobody wants to be responsible for some corporate patriarch's star player being sidelined, so they don't use the kinds of moves that'd put a player out of action for the next match, or even for training sessions leading up to it. It's almost a sport within a sport.

Hey, did you see any of the public terminal Iratis after the game? All of them were configured to the Pulsars colour layout our girl had, for a full 25 hours, the whole city. Did you know Comms Directorate were going to do that?

uhu, yeah, Daia: totrally lacking self confidence here. You did so enjoy this (me as well)!


Actually, it took me until the last skycab station near my place that night to realize what was different! Cool idea, I think we made them happier than we thought with our little stunt.
But I'd like to know if they would have made Irati sport the Harrier's colors, had they won. I somehow doubt that;)

Ok, so first match we followed closely with the crew! At first everyone was a bit confused about the rules but then we decided to stay laid back and just watch the action. The two krogan slaves were wondering why we were watching a "weak game good for pyjaks", sorry about that, but when the brawl started they grunted with satisfaction.
I have to say that general approval was reached with your number at half time Taleeze and Daia. Some were lamented the lack of "slip" as the report puts it, but most of us appreciated how it had both a natural and controlled feel. It was very nice, congratulations!
I've had a lot of request from the crew to see more of both of you, Mrs T'Nara and Ms Driana. Do you have any holos to recommend?
I'd say the main source of discontent was the loss of the harriers, that we were supporting by default ::/
So I'd say Pildavi have about 50 new fans here on the Unexpected Opportunity, so thanks for allowing us to discover it!

You're welcome, I am happy you enjoyed the show!

Thanks! :)

So far as holos go, there's my film appearances (check ExtranetPlayground, available from any Illium Entertainment outlet), but they don't really involve dancing if that's what you're after (I did some in the two Captain Illium films, but just personally I don't think they really hold up well nowadays, they were just goofy keep-everyone-amused adventures, and the wartime lack of budget shows). Bliss in Blue is a good one, still available from the Illian Stars catalogue - it's a behind-the-scenes documentary sort of thing, but being all about the Stars it's all about exotic dancing. There's various other bits and pieces of dancing and related goings-on in the vid section of my extranet site too - if you're just curious, there'd probably be enough to sate your curiosity for free, without needing to go into the subscription section.

I believe this is Taleeze's first foray into wowing the galaxy as a whole all at once (so all of you who haven't visited Illium and checked out Apricity, now you know what you're missing).

And as a former (and kind of current, for nostalgic fondness's sake) Harriers follower too, I feel your pain. Next year! (If you can get past our defence, of course, don't think you're getting any free points.)

Boo! Whimpy asari sports!

You should talk about the real sport, which is clawball.

As for all you dudes and dudettes wondering why I am reading this thread if it doesn't interest me: I am a sad man, and I have issues. This is a cry for help.

Also, I'm an attention whore.

Lol, mentioning whore in an asari thread. Zing!

Well if the Shatterjaxs would stop losing, I would.

clawball is for the unambitious.

Well we turn a blind eye when the slaves put their hand on the spicy stuff, but we don't display them at movie nights, it would be weird. The dancing stuff had a lot of success though.


Yeah it would be a pleasure but we're still a bit unwelcome at Illium, even though our direction is making progress with the local authorities.