A Night on the Town

[Verz Horak]

​Zeltros​

​Zeltros City​

​

Back again. Looking around, Verz Horak took in the sights of the capitol city of quite literally, Party Central. The planet was renowned for the near nonstop parties. The skyscrapers were elegantly designed, the people in party clothes- when they had clothes on at all. The city was littered with empty liquor bottles and glitterstim wrappers.


Verz walked the streets, helmet under his arm. Not even on a short vacation suggested by his friends, would he dare remove his armor. That would be like peeling off his flesh in most cases. Armor was life for a ​Mando'ad. He wandered the city, looking for a party or evemt that would interest him. There was a party for everyone on Zeltros. The Zeltrons made sure of it. The only matter was finding it.

@[member="Sophia Walsh"]

 

[Sophia Walsh]

Sophia was here refueling but she did have a couple of hours to blow until she was due back. It couldn't hurt to have a look around in the city. She had heard from others that it was party central and that it was a good place to let loose. Sophia had never been good at that as she was always under the microscope or at least that was how she felt. Not only were her superiors watching her but her father as well whom happened to be one of the Admiral. On top of this the young Captain expected a lot from herself and everything she did had to be perfect nothing else would do. This planet was the exact opposite of Sophia which perhaps was the reason it interested her so much.

Dressed in her uniform she made her way out of the spaceport to the streets of ​Zeltros City which were literally covered in glitter and other sparkly things that she couldn't recognize. She wouldn't have picked her uniform to wear to come here but she didn't have a change of clothes with her so it would have to do for now.

This place was crazy. There really were no other words for what she saw. People everywhere hanging over everything with a drink in their hand having a good time. It was fascinating so much so she wasn't watching where she was going and bumped right into someone causing her to stumble back a little bit.

"I'm so sorry, I should have been watching were I was going."

She looked up a little embarrassed at herself as normally she was good at being aware of her surroundings. This time not so much hopefully they were not too mad. It really was an honest mistake.
@[member="Verz Horak"]

 

[Verz Horak]

Suddenly, a woman in a Republic Navy uniform walked into him. Surprised, he staggered slightly. He had not been paying as much attention as he should have been either. So, when she apologized, he gave a warm chuckle, the scars on his face distorting slightly with his smile. "Don't worry about it. Everyone here is either high or drunk, or both. I've been bumped into by worse, sometimes repulsive things here. I'd take it you're new to Zeltros?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

Sophia laughed a little nervously. She had never met a Mandalorian before but he seemed somewhat nice. "Glad to know I'm not repulsive," she grinned. "Yup, it's my first time here or really anywhere like here. Is it like this all the time?" She motioned to the high people off to her left. The young Captain had never been to a party in her life as she never was invited to them so really she had no idea what all this was. It was brand new to her and kind of fascinating she had to admit.

"I'm Sophia by the way. It's nice to meet you." She had been taught to always be polite and considerate to others especially while in uniform as she was representing the Republic. The last thing she wanted to do was make her home look bad.

 

[Verz Horak]

"Yeah most people are like that around here. Party city." He gestured to some drunkards and high partygoers as he spoke. He looked at her uniform, and guessing by the way she held herself, she was a rookie Captain. Republic Navy. The way she reacted to the sights of the city was amusing. "Nice to meet you Sophia. I'm Verz. Mandalorian Rally Master. Army Corps. I would guess you are a Republic Navy Captain. A new one at that. How close am I?"

He might have lived on the streets for a good part of his life, but he still had manners. "May I offer to buy you a drink?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

“Exactly, did the Uniform give it away?” She had just gotten promoted about a week ago so she was super new. If she knew that she was going to be refueling on a party city she would have brought a change of clothes. Her uniform was definitely not party gear not that she knew what party gear was though. She had never been to a party in her life.

“The pleasure is all mine, Verz.” Sophia wasn't really a drinker as she found that more than one made her a little loopy. One with him couldn’t hurt though and she had time to blow. Connections outside the Republic were not too bad to have either. “Sure, why not I have time. I take it you have been here before?”

 

[Verz Horak]

He smiled again. "When you are a veteran, you learn to read unis. It can give away the important troopers away." He grimaced inwardly as he remembered the hard fought battles, vode lost. Those sent on their final march, the one that led to the manda. He then pushed those thoughts from his mind. "Yeah, I've been here once before. It was a nice night. Woke up with a headache, in a hotel bed with a Twi'lek next to me. Not exactly the worst way to wake up though." ​he joked.


He started walking, leading Sophia to the nearest bar, about a block away. "So, what brings you to Zeltros?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"I can imagine," she giggled a little. The last thing she needed was get herself high or drunk and end up in bed with anybody. That wasn't her style in the slightest. Sophia was a respectable officer and the young lady wanted to keep it that way. He could do whatever he wanted of course she may just stick with water or some iced tea.

"I'm only here to refuel but I figured since I'm not due back for another couple hours I would have a peek around the city and see what crazy things are here. Are you here looking for another night of fun with some Twi'lek's?" She joked a little. It wasn't often she was found without her crew so this time alone was bound to be interesting based solely on that.

 

[Verz Horak]

Chuckling at the joke, Verz opened the door to the bar for Sophia. A waitress, a Zeltron in skimpy clothing, showed the pair to a table. She handed them drink menus, most of which were alcoholic in one way, shape or form. "So, what brings me to Zeltros? I'm looing for work. Preferably as a merc that gets to fight. No war to fight, at least for now. So no need for the volunteer troopers like me."

A few minutes later, the waitress returned, asking for their orders. "I'll have a shot of tihaar."

 

[Sophia Walsh]

That was funny to say the least. He was here looking for work while she was looking for the opposite. Her work load if anything had just tripled in size and she was not looking to add onto it. If anything she was looking for a breather just to clear her head. She was hoping that would help her bang out some of these reports she needed to write. There was also something new she needed to deal with called a Captain's log where she was to write down the ongoings of the ship. "Sorry, I haven't got any work for you but I'm sure you already knew that. I'm not sure anybody is looking for a fight here. Everyone looks so carefree and happy," she stated looking to the menu.

Sophia didn't drink a lot as it messed with her head and she needed a clear one for her job but one never hurt. Her father also wasn't here to give her any disapproving looks. "I'll have a Coruscant Cooler thanks," she smiled to the waitress. Hailing from Courscant she had always wanted to try one. "I think if anybody got pissed at someone else they would just laugh it off. I could be wrong though." She was a little native as her whole life was in the Navy Republic even as a little girl before the academy she knew it was where she would go. It was a family tradition from way back when of men but now her. "Why would someone pay you to do their dirty work? Have you fight over what a spilled drink or something?"

 

[Verz Horak]

The waitress returned a few moments later with their drinks. Verz took his drink. "There are a lot of people here. Some of e need guards, or hunters, or even arena fighters. All of em pay well."

He remembered the time he spent on various jobs, sometimes going months without seeing his home and Mirdala, his pet strill. "How long has it been, since you've been home? For me, it's been about a month."

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"There are a lot of people here, your right on that one. I just figured them all to be drunk or something but I'm sure you know what your looking for." Sophia was sure he was skilled at knowing where and what to look for. She on the other hand saw an untrained eye and only saw a bunch of drunks.

"It's been about two months now since I have been at home with my family. I don't count base exactly as home but if we were counting that than a week. I really miss home sometimes it's hard being away from those I love. How do you handle being a way so much?" She knew her father wrote love letters to her mom but she had nobody like that and writing letters to her family was different. Being homesick was something she just dealt with but she wondered if he had a way to combat that or any tips.

 

[Verz Horak]

"Well, I have no immediate family, except for an adopted daughter, but she is not around much. Jedi business, she tells me. And I have my pet strill, Mirdala. I return as often as I can, but I know it can take care of itself. Both my parents died when I was younger and I have no siblings. So sometimes its a bit lonely at the vheh'yiam, but I deal with it." He took a drink, finishing the shot, and ordered another. Sometime soon, hopefully, he would find someone to settle down with, only leaving Mandalore to go to war. Raising a child or two, or even adopting one. Mandalorians don't see much of a distinction between biological and adoptive children.

"So, did you join the Navy because you wanted to, or was it a family tradition?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"It's a little bit of both actually. Being in the Navy is a family tradition for the boys of the family but not really the girls. It's possible that I'm the first one. My brother was pressured but I went because I wanted to be like my father. When I was little he used to take me on his ship and let me play captain. " She was still a daddy's girl to this day but she wouldn't take any favors from him. She progressed in ranks through her hard work and studying not because daddy pushed her along like some thought.

Pausing she took a sip of her drink. It wasn't too bad actually if she could find someone on base to go out for drinks with her she may need to get it again. "He's now an Admiral now and I'm not in his fleet. I personally made sure of that because well it's best to not have your father as your commanding officer. Your daughter is a Jedi? What's her name. I could know her asvmy mother is also a Jedi."

 

[Verz Horak]

"Her name is Sandis. Never really knew her last name. Don't know what it was, but it would be Horak now. At least on Mandalore. I haven't seen her for a while though." He paused to take a drink. "Personal accomplishment is good though. I'll drink to your promotions." He raised his glass in a toast. "I used to go on jobs with my father as well, though they were much rougher than playing captain. When I was eight, he started taking me on merc jobs, as per tradition. He, um, he died on one of those excursions. I took his armor and weapons, and had his droid pilot his ship outta there. Spent a while on a nearby world, doing odd jobs for years before I got the ship repaired enough to go offworld. Then I joined the army." Verz downed his shot and ordered one last drink.

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"To promotions," she grinned bring her glass up to clink with his before taking a big sip. The only people besides him to be happy about her promotion at the moment were her family. She was sure that would change though with time.

She couldn't imagine not seeing her father or him dying. As much as he got on her last nerve sometimes he was still her father. She loved him very much and always had been a daddy's girl. It was probably part of the reason people sometimes thought she got favors.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father. I don't know what I would do without mine. Where you there when it happened or did you just find him that way. You don't have to tell me though. You know I'm sure it's not something you want to bring up."

 

[Verz Horak]

"Oh I was there. He didn't want me to leave his side. And I came to terms with his death a long time ago. There is a Mandalorian custom, that before we sleep, we recite the names of deceased friends and family, so their memory will never be lost. My parents live on, but they are marching far away." ​ He set his glass down, taking a deep breath, remembering. His glass was empty, and a waitress came over to refill both of their drinks. He did miss his parants, but he strived to make them pround, even if they were beyond the grave. He paused a moment, wondering where life would take him, in its odd way of making everything work out in the end. "What do you plan on doing in your lifetime Sophia?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"I would like to continue my career in the Navy and maybe be Grand Admiral one day. Not anytime soon but I would like a family of my own or at least someone to come home to. You know someone whom makes all this worth it. First though I need to find someone which is hard as my father is very strict. I think all the Navy guys are scared he will demote them for talking to me," she laughed a little as she took another sip of her drink. There were a few guys she thought were cute but that was how far anything went. Nobody was brave enough or liked her enough to face him which was fine it gave her time to do other things. She wasn't worried about being alone though. She was still young and there was plenty of time for that type of thing. "What about you? What do you see for the future?"

 

[Verz Horak]

"I have similar views for the future. I want to serve Mandalore with honor, fighting alongside my brothers and sisters.Perhaps become a Field Marshall one day. It's the equivalent of your generals, except like all Mandalorian, they fight on the front line.. And I also want to find someone to settle down with. Raise children, live a long life if I can." He placed his glass on the table. He still hadn't found the person he would be willing to spend his life with. Hopefully he would soon. As one would imagine, a Mando's life expectancy isn't always optimal.
"Though, I fear that the Sith are looking to attack, against the wishes of their Empress. Two Sith Knighs pulled a terroristic attack on Mandalore. Destroyed a bar, injured me and some friends. So, I fear that if war does break out, I'll perish before I can have a family of my own."

 

[Sophia Walsh]

Sophia nodded taking a sip of her drink. She had a couple close calls herself like the time she got herself shot once or twice. That didn't count the times she had near crashes in her starship but she wasn't that worried. She was always careful when it came to that stuff. Sophia hoped that things would change soon for her and if they didn't maybe she would have to get bold.

"I wouldn't be surprised they have been to quite lately for my liking. I'm sure that the terrorist attack was just the beginning of a bigger plan that they may have for the whole galaxy. They are restless and are itching to do something even if the Empress doesn't approve." The idea of having to go against the Sith shook her up a little. She never had none that one on one before if though she had training. " I'm sure you'll find some soon. Do you have your eye on anybody?"