Blue is the New Black

[Cryax Bane]

At Kadrak's offer to help, Cryax smiled broadly and nodded his head cordially. "Thank you Kadrak. I'm truly honored." At Zatten's statement the Chiss was obviously overcome with emotion. "I appreciate it deeply, Zatten. This means more to me than you both know."

At the news that his former girlfriend had joined the Silver Jedi, Cryax furrowed his brow. The cognac was now settling into his system, his tongue loosening. "It's not like a Jedi faction and a criminal syndicate ever made the best bedfellows, but I never underestimate the capacity of people to glom onto the most melodramatic reasons to fight one another." he said with a smirk. Then a sudden flash of rage crossed over his eyes. "The Mandolorians are gunning for me. From what I hear, I'm public enemy number one. Especially since I broke up with the Mandalore's sister over text message." Cryax then shrugged, but his voice took on an icy tone.

"Oh, the Mandos think they're so accepting of others," sneered the Chiss. "But try being a blue-skinned person dating a Moactan Teel. The Mandalore was at least civil to me, but the rest of 'em were xenophobic bastards. The irony is that when we were together, her Vode couldn't wait for us to break up. And now that I've given them what they wanted, they want me dead." Cryax chuckled darkly and suddenly hurled his glass to the floor, where it smashed into little pieces. Nearby faces turned with consternation then quickly looked back at their drinks when they saw who it was. A tiny rivulet of blood dripped from his hand where the glass nicked him, and he testily wiped it away with a napkin.

@[member="Zatten Black"] @[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Mention of a message from Cross caused her to blink in surprise, but she simply nodded in response to it, whispering in response. "The Red Admiral himself, huh? Interesting." A number of scenarios crossed her mind at that, ranging from a disbanding of the Novas to something more serious, even if she wasn't sure what that entailed. Things had been quiet of late with that particular faction, or the Federation for that matter, and something told her that it wasn't good news, though she'd been wrong before. But it would have to wait for later, just as Zatten said, no matter how much it nagged at her. It still boded consideration.

It was obvious to her that Cryax was beginning to become inebriated, but for the time being she decided to ignore it, at least for the most part. It would do no good to anger him any more than he was, or bring up any more touchy subjects, at least until the night had transpired further. Kadrak knew that there was some sense in being the voice of moderation, and that would be more beneficial in this situation than it had in any other, she had a feeling. Especially since, at least sometimes, Zatten tended to get a bit too personal with his questions too soon into things.

But she resolved that speaking would probably help to ease the tension, at least for the time being. There would be things she was unable to help him work through, but this wasn't one of those. "Well, something tells me they'll have a difficult time achieving that goal. You have people to back you up, and more than just us. The rest of the Ravens, and your allies. So I dare say there's no point in worrying about it, at least for now. They can try all they want." She smiled again, hoping the gesture would at least reassure him for now.

"Let's not talk about things like that, at least for now. Now that the business is out of the way, we have the rest of the night for pleasure. Wouldn't you agree?"

@[member="Cryax Bane"], @[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I glanced at Kadrak, and shook my head. I squeezed her hand, and let go to rest my face comfortably in my palm. I held another hand out to forestall any commentary from my friend, or my partner for a second. My voice went low, and I sighed heavily at Cryax.

"You want to explain to me how you could do something so ​astronomically stupid as breaking up with your girlfriend, who by the way has a lot of pull with a warrior empire that's full of people with nasty ways to kill you, over a frakking text message? No wonder the Mandos want to kill you. If I was her, I'd kill you. What the hell were you thinking, you idiot? What was so bad, that you couldn't tell this woman, to her face, that you didn't want her around anymore? I didn't think anybody could do something so suicidal."

I shook my head, a lot slower this time, and leaned hard on the bar.

"Dammit, Cryax. How am I supposed to, in good conscience, protect you from something that you brought on yourself?"

@[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] @[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

A few more security guards milled about conspicuously, hushed voices assuring their team that there was no cause for alarm as a bar droid wheeled up to the table and replaced Cryax's drink. Makeshift napkin bandage on his hand, Cryax smiled weakly at Kadrak, surprised anyone would even help him at all after that unseemly display. Then came Zatten's verbal barrage.

Cryax just sat there and sheepishly took it, and when Black was finished he simply shrugged. "You're right, Zatten, I'm an idiot. I might as well have killed some cute, cuddly kittens. Look, I just got cold feet. That's all. And yeah, she deserved better than that. But..." Here he gestured around the casino. "As you can see I've got a few more important things to deal with right now than relationship hijinks. Anyway, I spent a week in a Black Sun prison on Kessel and lived. I'm not afraid of a few karking Mandalorians."

"Besides, Zatten. Coming from Mister Heartbreaker himself this is like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?" Cryax inappropriately snickered at his own pun, and then resumed drinking.

@[member="Zatten Black"] @[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

All Kadrak did was remain silent throughout their back and forth, looking between them before sighing quietly, shaking her head and reaching over to snake her fingers between Zatten's, squeezing his hand gently, hoping to calm him from reacting too badly to Cryax's last dig. Despite her calm outward act she found that she had to silently remind herself that getting upset about anything the man had to say wouldn't help the situation, and that taking things calmly would help to better resolve things. The Chiss was certainly making it difficult, though. Of course, the fact that he was drinking certainly didn't help things along. If he was difficult before, inebriated, he was almost impossible.

Leaning forward, she leveled her gaze with Cryax's, deciding to give him a dose of reality regardless. "Listen, Bane. I can't honestly tell you that I'm okay with any of it, because I'm not. If you're going to cut something off, you'd better have the stones to do it in person. And, speaking from the point of view of a woman, and one who isn't afraid of a few guns either, you'd better be watching your back. The Mandalorians don't give a kark if you're the new president of the Red Ravens. They'll come after you, weapons blazing, whether you're afraid of them or not. And you should be, within good reason."

The final comment she decided to leave to Zatten to answer, it being more between the two of them than her. But she was curious about Zatten would reply.

@[member="Cryax Bane"], @[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I raised my eyebrows and rolled my eyes at Cryax, trying not to squeeze Kadrak's hand too hard. That last insult didn't faze me, but I had to say something. It wouldn't be me if I didn't talk back, after all.

"Oh, you're so funny. Talk to me like that when you don't have your little stim addicts covering your back. You wouldn't sling insults around like that if I was anybody else, huh? Or maybe you just had to be drunk to grow some balls. Or maybe you can't deal with your own crap, so you come to me. What, you gonna try and pay me off to kill your new ex's friends? You brought that on yourself, idiot."

So, alright, maybe it did get to me. I sneered at my pugnacious friend, and looked at him, disappointed.

"And here I thought you got promoted for something brave, or maybe some big deal you made. But, no. You got promoted for sitting on a vault while your boss ran off to the other end of the galaxy. Good karking job, Cryax. You've dug yourself into a mile-deep hole I can't, and maybe even won't dig you out of. Good luck with that. Really."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax admired Kadrak's ability to stay calm in situations like this, and as she talked to him calmly and rationally, he watched her silently, absently running his fingers through his blue-black hair and finishing off drink number three or maybe four. He'd lost count. When she mentioned the Mandos, he opened his mouth to speak, but then snapped it shut and let her finish. When the Zabrak was done, he shook his head. "They already wanted to kill me just for being with her. Now they just have a reason they can justify. There was no love lost with the Mandos, believe me. One of her family members refused to meet with me just because I was a Chiss." It also had to do with the fact that he was a criminal, but Cryax didn't think that part was relevant so he selectively edited that little part of the story.

At Zatten's next round of comments Cryax became visibly enraged. "That wasn't an insult, Zatten. When I insult you, believe me, you'll karking know it." He jabbed a blue-skinned finger at his snarky friend. "You have no idea what I've been through and how much fething crap I've had to put up with to get where I am. What do you think happened in that Kessel death camp? They baked me cupcakes? Invited me to a sewing circle? By the Maker I was tortured within an inch of my life." Cryax's hand instinctively went to his blaster holster, but then he stopped himself and took a deep breath. He needed to cool his jets. Pronto. Before his security guards did something everyone would regret.

Cryax put his hands on the table and looked down at his drink. "I'm not asking you to kill anyone. I just want to know who's got my back. That's all."

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Casting a final glance to Zatten she exhaled slowly to calm herself, but despite this her hand was already halfway to where her blaster would usually be holstered once Cryax made a move towards his. Slowly and deliberately she moved that hand to rest on the bar, her yellow eyes rimmed with red outside of the iris never wavering from his crimson ones. "You're not listening. We have your back, Cryax. We wouldn't be friends otherwise. But you also have to realize that when you bring this on yourself, it's just a bit hard to feel too bad for you. If you're going to give a warrior culture a fething good reason to want you dead, then you have to be prepared to deal with the consequences. And, rather unfortunately for you, having them gunning for you is a part of it."

Now she relaxed slightly, the hint of a smile on her lips. "I hate to say it, but you can't justify one thing with something completely different. I have no doubt in my mind you've gone through hell and back. And you're a stronger person for it, more than likely. But that doesn't make any of this go away, or make the Mandalorians not want you out of the picture anymore, now does it? Think about that, before you go for your blaster next time. Because when you do, and I have mine, you'll be looking down the barrel faster than you can get your hand on yours."

Letting that sink in for a long moment she nodded at the last thing he had to say. "If it's justified, we'll kill for you. But only then. Don't go thinking that we'll go along with things that don't make any sense to us in the first place. If it was Zatten telling you any of this, you'd better believe that you'd be saying a lot of the same things to him. I'm not telling you this to berate or lecture you. I'm talking to you as a friend, who's trying to knock at least a little sense into you. Force knows you could use a little."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I looked at Cryax with a small bit of contempt. He'd forgotten who he was talking to, trying to draw a gun on me. Even with his guards around, what could they possibly do to me? If I was in battlerage, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"You should know by now that I'd already have that gun in my hand if I thought you were going to use it on me. You'd have been dead twice by now if we'd come to hurt you. I know what the black Suns did to you. I know what happened that week on Kessel. But I'm not here to listen to you complain about that to guilt me and Kadrak under a hammer you managed to drop on yourself. You have a perfectly good army, every last one of 'em willing to shoot holes into some vode. Don't get angry that I'm not willing to."

Finally turning my attention back to my almost-full bottle of Ol Janx Spirit, I sighed and popped it open again, drinking for a couple of seconds before looking up again. My voice turned into a low mutter, due to both my loss of control and the fact that I wasn't stopping the alcohol from hitting my bloodstream anymore.

"I didn't tell you why I had to escape Zeltros, did I? Never thought you should hear me queen about it too much. Kadrak knows, and a former master of mine, and even the latter only knows because she heard of my father. I didn't tell you about the fucking Jedi that escaped me when he killed my mother, did I? I didn't tell you about the fact that my dad is dying in a fucking hospital because he got stabbed by a lightsaber. I never threw my problems in your face, or asked you to come and do something that didn't concern you. Your little stint on Kessel is the least of your issues."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

When Kadrak spoke, his shoulders had just started to relax, but Zatten's fresh round of comments sparked a fresh round of ire in the Chiss. "You're not listening to me," Cryax hissed at Zatten, slamming his uninjured hand down on the table, security guards and droids whipping heads around at the sudden movement. "I didn't drop a hammer on anything. The Mandalorians were trying to shoot me in face before I broke up with the Mandalore's sister."

Cryax finally threw his hands up in irritation. "Fine, Zatten. If you're not willing to help me if the Ravens find themselves at war, I won't force the issue. Apparently people only help each other when it concerns the other party. Friendship must be a luxury in the galaxy these days. Just don't think for a second that I'd turn my back on either of you if the shoe were on the other foot. That's your M.O., not mine."

Then the young crime boss looked over at Kadrak, the side of his mouth lifting into a weak smile. "It's nice to know who my true friends are. Thanks, Kadrak." He whipped his head back to the Zelto-chiss. "You could learn alot from your girl, Zatten. She talks more sense than you most of the time." He took another sip of his drink and leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, raising a brow challengingly at the other man. "And she's a frell of alot prettier."

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Before saying anything in response to Cryax she looked to Zatten with an almost imperceptible shake of her head, reaching over to rest her hand on top of his, trying to calm him at least a small amount before things got more violent in nature. The last thing any of them needed was security intervening, when they were already on edge about things. That would just be the icing on the cake at this point, and no one needed that floating around the HoloNet. Least of all a certain crime boss, but she neglected to mention that. If he was smart, he'd figure things out. If not, well, she wasn't sure how much more she'd be willing to talk him down.

With a muttered string of curses and insults in Zabraki, she shook her head and looked to Cryax, her patience wearing thin. "I'm only going to tell you this once, you'd better shut your karking mouth if you know what's good for you. This isn't about the Ravens going to war anymore. This is about you expecting us to shell out and fight the Mandalorians for you just because you broke up with Ana. We're friends, sure. That doesn't mean we have to along with something we don't agree with. It was incredibly stupid for you to cut things off the way you did, and you know it, whether you'll admit it or not. Now's the time to deal with it. You're supposed to be the president of the Ravens. Start acting like it."

Keeping her gaze steady with his for another moment she eventually sighed quietly and closed her eyes for a moment, opening them before she spoke again. "Are you done, or do we need to knock some sense into you? Because at this point, I'd be happy to do it for you. Either learn how to shut your mouth, or have someone else do it for you. But don't expect them to be near as nice about it."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I took another long draught of the Janx, and then felt something... odd. I looked back at Cryax, suddenly feeling a bit angrier than usual.

"You little blue hypocrite. You just ditched somebody because she was too much trouble for you. You-"

The odd feeling broke out into an actual fit of dizziness. Suddenly, Kadrak was sitting on her own lap, and Cryax was leaning on himself. My eyes widened, turning red as my body tried to use the Force to purge my bloodstream of this odd toxin. Poison. There was no other answer. My hand reached for the Chiss' neck, and curled into a fist, choking him without coming in contact. As I began to black out, I looked at the bottle I'd been drinking out of, and then gritted my teeth as my fist clenched further.

"Who knew you'd have the guts to do it?"

And my fist unclenched as I saw no more.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

As more rounds of heat were leveled at the snarky Chiss, now from Kadrak, too, he merely stared at both of them with a tight expression, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Cryax was about to launch into another barrage of indignation and defensiveness when suddenly he felt his throat tightening. Slowly the inexorable pressure on his larynx intensified and through watery eyes he spied Zatten's arm raised in what was no doubt a Force choke hold. "Vitcehah hah vah bircisb!," gasped Cryax in Cheunh as he clawed at his own throat in agony.

Suddenly Zatten slumped down on the table and wth a ragged breath, Cryax was released. The lanky crime boss inhaled deeply and grabbed the table to center himself. He turned to Kadrak, still panting for breath, his brow furrowed in consternation. "What the frell just happened?"

Then without missing a beat, he flicked on his com. "Bane here. We need a med droid at Club Lush. Pronto."

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Although her knowledge in regards to medical care was limited at best, Kadrak knew enough to know that it was a good idea to get him at the very least flat on the floor, so that it would be easier to administer any medical assistance necessary. So she did just that, moving him as gently as she could out of his seat and onto the floor, which wasn't an easy task, even with her adequate strength, as he was much taller than she was, though she managed easily enough without any other help. Somebody had to do something, and if Cryax wouldn't, she would.

Once he was lying on his back she moved his head to the side in case he vomited, kneeling beside him to check first his breathing and then his pulse, being surprisingly calm despite everything. That was always her initial response. After working under fire as a battlefield mechanic, her first instinct to stress was to combat it with her own sense of calm, whether she was internally panicking or not. In this case she most definitely was, and it showed in the ever so faint tremble of her hands as she worked, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt and loosening his tie to ease with his breathing.

Finally she sat back, her knowledge not extending to allow her to do any more, and she looked to Cryax, her voice slightly unsteady as she spoke, though ti was otherwise even. "Whoever did this, I want them fething dead."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Speechless, Cryax's response to Kadrak was simply a worried shake of his head and a few nervous glances around the room. Suddenly two medical droids arrived on the scene with a hover stretcher and carted off the Zelto-chiss to a dimly-lit makeshift sick bay in the back of the casino, Cryax and Kadrak following closely behind with the Chiss's security detail in tow. As fluorescent lights flickered overhead, the droids pumped Zatten's stomach and stabilized his condition.

Cryax lifted his hand to Kadrak's shoulder in an attempt to be comforting to his friend, but upon seeing her icy glare, let it drop to his side with a sigh. As they waited for Zatten to gain consciousness, the Chiss crime boss put his hands out to Kadrak in a conciliatory gesture.

"He didn't mean me back there, right? Cause I swear I had nothing to do with this."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Attempting a smile, Kadrak only shook her head at Cryax's worry over being blamed for things, pulling over a chair and sitting down, taking Zatten's limp hand in hers and gently running her thumb over the top of it, remaining silent for a long moment. It wasn't that she didn't have a reply for the Chiss, but after his behavior earlier that night she wasn't too keen on his company. But there was no point in ignoring him either, as it would probably just start up another argument that she didn't want to have to deal with, given the current situation. So finally she spoke, glancing to Cryax briefly as she did so. "You wouldn't have a reason to, as far as I know. But know that if you did, you'd be dead faster than you could blink." Rarely were her threats idle, and this one was much of the same.

At the moment that was all she had to say to him, as she was still busy searching her memory for anyone who would want Zatten dead for any reason. Sure, there were the petty bar fights and disagreements, but she didn't think that would give anyone a good reason to go out of their way to poison him. And besides, after getting more than a glimpse of that crowd, she didn't think any of them would have the finesse necessary. After a moment her mind strayed back to what he'd said about his reason for fleeing Zeltros, which brought another idea to mind. If his family's rivals or old enemies were beginning to make attempts on his life, that didn't bode well for the future.

Once more she looked to Cryax. "I want security holos from the two hours before we arrived, and up to twenty minutes after. Keep an eye out for any strange Chiss or Zeltrons that might have passed through."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax didn't enjoy being threatened by his friend, but the Chiss figured that now wasn't the time to split hairs. Kadrak's boyfriend and a good friend of his was currently lying on a hover stretcher unconscious. and almost as if he read her mind, he too was curious about Zatten's enemies. From what he heard through the galactic grapevine, the man had many dating back to the time before his exile.

Cryax didn't argue with Kadrak about the security footage, and instead got on his commlink and ordered the footage she requested. The crime boss paced back and forth and then crossed over the hover stretcher where Zatten lay to see if there was any change in his condition.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I woke up with a wheezing breath, and felt the gentle softness of Kadrak's hand on mine. I sat up, about to put my arm around her waist, but a medical droid tried to push me back down. I pushed it away with the Force, put my arm around my lover's waist, and pulled her down into my lap. Before she could protest, I pulled her close and gave her a kiss on the mouth.

Then I looked up at Cryax, and my mood darkened a bit. I didn't know what I'd done to him before I passed out, but he was definitely the person who'd have had the easiest time of poisoning that bottle. He knew me, so he knew I'd probably reach for it if it was that close. At the same time, though... He hadn't had any real reason to be mad at me until after I'd started drinking.

Looking between the woman I loved, and the closest friend I had besides her, I sighed. The IVs sticking out of me were itching slightly, so I pulled them out and frowned at the tag around my wrist that was labeled "alcohol poisoning"... Ha, not bloody likely. I ripped the this plastic bracelet off, too, and sat up against the backboard of the bed, sliding Kadrak so she was sitting in front of me, like I sometimes liked to when we were on the ship.

"So, who the hell tried to knock me off, this time?"

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Smiling at both the fact that he was awake and that he seemed to be unchanged from the event itself. Of course, she hadn't expected much else, but it was always nice to have her suspicions confirmed. As he spoke she took his hand in hers once more, squeezing it gently at the first words out of his mouth after he'd become comfortable. "That's something we're still trying to figure out. I'm almost surprised something like this has happened already. We haven't even been to Csilla yet. I didn't think you had quite this many friends in the galaxy. Might have to introduce me to a few, if they keep getting this friendly."

Though she might not have been Force sensitive, Kadrak had been around Zatten long enough to know when he wasn't in the best of moods, so when she felt his mood darken she only traced the top of his hand and glanced to Cryax with a faint smile. She could only hope that they wouldn't begin arguing again here in the medical bay, but only time would tell. Hopefully enough alcohol had dissipated from the Chiss' system so that he would at the very least be able to see reason.

"What was it they called it? Alcohol poisoning?" Here she couldn't help but laugh quietly. "They must not know you very well, or at all. It's hard enough to give you a hangover, and near impossible to do anything more than that. Unless you were feeling particularly ambitious, that is."

[member="Zatten Black"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Relieved that his good friend was conscious, Cryax started to move towards the Zelto-chiss, but faced with a malicious look flashing over Zatten's eyes, the Chiss stood back a few feet away from the couple. His brow furrowed, Cryax quickly consulted with the medical droid who insisted that the diagnosis was correct. The whole thing was really karking suspicious. Cryax was paranoid by nature, and his position with the Ravens only heightened that feeling. He suddenly began wondering if Zatten was trying to frame him. But why?

Absently rubbing his neck where Zatten had tried to Force choke him, Cryax shook his head, his anger dissipated. As his red eyes moved back and forth between Kadrak and Zatten, the Chiss's voice involuntarily took on the formal tone he used with the crime lords and CEO's he now had to placate. "I'm sorry this happened on my watch. I truly am. We should have the security footage soon. You're welcome to take as much time as you need with it."

"I swear. I'll do everything in my power to make sure whoever did this enters a world of pain."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]