A Night on the Town

[Verz Horak]

"I wouldn't be surprised if the sneaky chaakars, excuse my language, did have something planned. Perhaps a coup ouf some sort. Most of em can never be trusted, unless you're one of em that is." Verz downed a bit more tihaar, trying to make his decidedly last drink for the night last. No need to black out and wind up in a similar situation as last time he was here. "No one in particular. I'm still waiting for the right woman. No need to rush that sort of thing, but there kinda is at the same time, you know?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"I don't trust them though I'll admit I have yet to met one face to face. I would like to keep it that way too. My mother is a Jedi Master so she deals with them all the the time. She taught me how to handle myself but I rather not." It was good to know he disliked the Sith just as much as anybody in the Republic did. Always good to have someone on that side.

"You can't hurry love but ya I know what you mean. There is this guy I work with whom I think I may like. It's weird though as we argue all the time for his behavior and he never listens to orders."

 

[Verz Horak]

"We, they say opposites attract. You'll never know what's meant to be until it happens. Like I never expected to be buying drinks for a Republic Navy officer tonight." Verz chuckled. Taking another sip of tihaar, he decided one more after this couldn't hurt. He finished his drink and ordered one last glass of tihaar, the potent smell of fruit and alcohol wafting from the glass. "So, if you're a rookie captain, I'm guessing you haven't seen much, if any, combat?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"True, just like I never thought I would actually ever be sitting here on Zeltros. It's the last place in the galaxy you would ever expect to see someone like me." It didn't help the guy who drove her crazy was under her command. It made everything much more complicated than it ever needed to be. She would figure things out or she could continue the amusing relationship that they currently had. Sophia would be fine either way or at least she told herself that.

"On the contrary I have seen a lot of combat just not as a Captain. I used to and at times still do fly my starship into battles when I need to. I have almost been shot down more than a dozen times but as you can see I survived. Maneuvering a big cruiser in battle is definitely different and something I'm still getting used to. I miss simply flying in my starship sometimes. I'm sure you have seen many more battles than me though, right?"

 

[Verz Horak]

"Probably. My first deployment was during the Mandalorian annexation of Taris. And my most recent was Borosk. I ffought in the Fall of Junction, the Battle of Concord Dawn, and the 2nd Battle for Junction. And I've been in several campaigns during Mandalorian expansion. I was injured several times. All in all, you could say I've been a busy boy." ​ He took a sip of his drink, remembering the battles. Fighting Sith troopers and Knights, nearly blowing up two Sith Masters, his squad, and an entire building, and all of the Mandalorians that were lost fighting to defend Mandalore. "Sometimes it's hard, remembering that you survived when your friends didn't. Or when you wake up after having relived a battle in your dreams."

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"It sounds like it. I'm sure you have been shot at and hit more times than even you can count." She wasn't on the ground much if she could help it. The Army and Navy didn't get along all that well but Sophia would help them out if needed a pilot or that. She had been shot at too just from the "safety" of her x-wing and lately from inside her ship. That was never fun when that happened. "I bet you have a bunch of cool battle scars and stuff." That was at least a positive from being shot well kind of. Sophia didn't exactly want any of those though which was unlikely to happen since she was where she was.

"I know what you mean. Waking up in the middle of the night screaming about something you saw in battle," she nodded taking another sip of her drink. She used to do that a lot which scared her parents a lot now though not so much. "I feel guilty sometimes when those under my command die. I think if I just wouldn't have sent them there they would still be here. I know I shouldn't feel that way but I do."

 

[Verz Horak]

"I have several scars, that is true. Some worse than others. Most are under my armor, some on my face" Verz pointed to some of the scars on his face, "And many within my mind." Verz remembered the most resent injury, the blaster wound that now adorned his right shoulder. His armor's plates were still a bit singed there, as if they would always remember the injury their owner sustained. The dreams, or more accurately, nightmares, were less frequent, but in the middle of a campaign, or after returning home from one, they were horribly fresh in his mind. He had spent many a sleepless night fighting the urge to crawl inside a bottle until he passed out. "It seems we have more in common than you would think, huh? Though, as an officer, you are more removed from the battle, more so due to being on a capital ship, I would assume. I always lead my troops head first, and take the more dangerous jobs if I can. My opinion is that an officer should be exposed to as much, if not more, than their subordinates."

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"Wow, ya I don't have any scars like that. I was shot in the shoulder before but nothing like you." What she did now was much more tactical thinking rather than actually being in the middle of a battle. There were positives and negatives to that just as there were with everything. Her guys went into battle because she said so and she wished at times to go with them. When they were short handed she did go along with them. Sophia had to admit that sometimes she missed the action and leading her own squad. "I am pretty well protected on my ship from the battle but not always. There are times I will go out with my guys even though I'm not supposed to during a specifically dangerous mission. I want to be there for them and support them the best I can. Sometimes that's watching from the capital ship as I get reports of what is going on and where they ought to avoid." The Navy ran differently from the Army in many ways as she was seeing but she supported her guys always and cared about them all. Sophia worked very hard to figure out ways to keep them safe and she bumped heads with some over them. She thought out of the box which not many did. She couldn't disagree with him though about officers though. "I would take a bullet for any of my guys."

 

[Verz Horak]

"As would I. And I have. On Borosk, I was distracting an enemy squad so my team could attack a shield generator powering the planetary shields.I was hit in the shoulder." Verz took a drink, remembering the fight. It was one that he was likely, if not garunteed to be injured or killed in. There were 12 stormtroopers. He was alone. He took out a few, but eventually a sniper got him. He was luckly his helmet was keeping his neck safe. Otherwise he probably wouldn't be here, sharing a drink with a Republic Navy officer. His shoulder seemed to heat up slightly, as if his body were also rembering the trauma it suffered that day. "And I wouldn't change a thing about that battle."

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"I think I would do the same thing if I got the chance but normally we are pretty well protected by the ship. I hope this never happens but if the ship was going down I would get everyone out before even thinking about myself. A good captain always goes down with the ship, right?" Sophia wasn't worried though she was a good pilot and her ship solid there was no way they would be going down without a fight. Finishing off her drink she thought about it for a second. She really hadn't been in a battle yet as a Captain but it was bound to happen sooner than later. The thought of that happening was a little frightening but it was a risk of what she did. "I would rather it be me than someone else hurt."

 

[Verz Horak]

"It seems that with command comes a dilemma. Is it better to save the competent, experienced officer, or the inexperienced troopers? I personally believe an officer should be exposed to danger. It only makes sense." Verz took a sip of his drink. A member of the wait staff offered him a cigarette, which he politely declined. "What did you think of the Omni crisis?"

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"I learned a lot from the Omni situation not only about myself but about others as well. I could have easily been one of the casualties on my ship during the final battle. I think in some ways I should have been if only I had gotten to that thing sooner more lives could have been saved. I got shot but that is nothing compared to what happened to my crew," she sighed and shook her head slightly as she took another sip of her drink. Sophia hated even thinking about what happened that faithful day. The whole crisis stood out to her but the last battle trumpeted it all.

"My family was forced out of our home when everything first started happening and silly me thought things would get better. I watched in horror as things progressively got worse until the end. It is a tragedy and now that it's over all we can do is pick up the pieces and move forward. We will never forget though what happened. I know I'm young but I learned that we could all die any day. You have to live life to the fullest and have fun. Which is why I think we should go exploring around here and have fun. Why not?"

Grinning she took the last swig of her drink before setting it back on the table. "I promise we won't end up high and in bed with some weird looking creature we never have even heard of before."

 

[Verz Horak]

"It was a dak time for the galaxy for sure. I was there, at the final battle for Coruscant. We helped fight off droid infanty near the world devastator. At least the galaxy came out of it in more or less one piece." Verz laughed at Sophia's joke. Though she did have a point. Zeltros was party central, and all they have done so far was drink. Ver cancled the order for his fourth drink and set down the credits for the ones he and Sophia did have. "Sure. This is quite literally Party City after all. It would be fun to see what's going on around town."

Verz got up and thanked the waitress, then opened the door for Sophia. Then, they stepped out into the warm Zeltros night. The city was as bustling as before, full of party goers, drunkards and druggies. If anything, now that night had really fallen, it seemed there were more than before. One could hardly walk a block without hearing people yelling good naturedly, blaring music, and all around good times.

 

[Sophia Walsh]

"It isn't cause you haven't tried to kill me, yet." Sophia was safe with him or let's put it this was she thought that she was safe around him. He wasn't going to hurt her as she was the furthest thing from a threat to him ever plus he had just bought her a drink and they were in a party city. "You wouldn't do that though," she grinned. The smell emitting from the Zeltrons was intoxicating and Sophia couldn't help but turn to face a group of them both males and females. It wasn't long till she found herself wandering in that direction.

When it came to sex,drugs, and rock and roll Sophia was very naive. She had only been kissed once by a boy and that was at the academy many years ago. Her father was pretty good at keeping guys at bay and protecting her from any bad thing that may come her way. Hopefully Verz would follow after her and bring the young girl back to her senses before she ended up doing something stupid.

 

[Verz Horak]

"Well, last time I was here, my friend said nobody in their right mind would want to make a Mando mad. Nobody would want to mess with you. But you would look ridiculous with only the helmet. If you want to wear the armor, you can. I'm sure Sandis wouldn't mind. She has a full set of her own. It was a gift I gave her for her completion of the verd'gotten." He remembered the pride he felt when Sandis had passed. She did so with flying colors, and from then on was considered a full citizen of Mandalore. He had gotten a frined of his, who was a smith, to make the armor for her. However, after the verd'gotten, she could only stay a little while, as she did still have responsibility to the Jedi. So ot was back to just Verz and his strill in their house in the woods. Not that Verz complained. "I guess you could say I'm a workaholic as well. I'm always ready for a fight."