Credits for Merenzane Gold!

[Kiff Brayde]

​

ABREGADO-RAE​

​

The clatter of patrons setting down their drinks, using tiny metal utensils to cut into their food, or setting down their cards in defeat filled the entire casino on Abregado-Rae. The Merchant's Wife, the establishment was called, and a fine establishment it was. Ornate gold columns wove itself up the walls in a conclave fashion, and high lanterns filled the room with yellow, ambient light. It was the ideal setting for someone who did not want to be known, or someone who really wanted to be known -- the freedom of being on a planet not under the jurisdiction of a Galactic Superpower was palpable for many. And that included Kiff Brayde.

Normally, you wouldn't find a Confederacy High Marshal in a casino such as this. The Vicelord frowned on 'risky financial expidentures,' and not to mention the obvious public-relations detriment of a top military officer drinking in a common bar. But despite that, Kiff Brayde was not the average military commander. He had a large purse, a keen taste for fine wine, and a hunger in his eye. The constant stress of battle after battle was gambled away in the night. And this night, especially.

An open table sat in the middle of the room, the cards for the Corellian Spike version of Sabaac stacked neatly in a table. Shifting himself over, he sat himself in the dealer's spot while his hands shuffled the deck, tapping them sideways to keep them straight as he cut the deck into half and flipped them together. He had a feeling that this would be a quite unusual game, and for someone who had seen quite a bit of unusual things, that meant quite a lot. Hopefully, he wouldn't be dissapointed.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Places like this, this was where Aurelius Baldor thrived. The games, the laughing, the clinking of glasses, all the sounds of The Merchant's Wife were music to Aurelius Baldor's long, pointed ears. He's always had a knack for gambling, and striking it out on his own is probably the biggest gamble he's ever taken. But tonight isn't about that.

The Devaronian flashed a toothy grin at Brayde as he sat down at the Sabaac table, a white fur coat draped over his shoulders and a Meltdown cocktail in one hand, a Flyntarian tabac stick in the other. He paused a moment to put the tabac stick between his pointed teeth before pulling a credit stick from his pocket and pushing it across the table, the stick igniting as he did.

"Nice night for some fun, wouldn't you say," the Devaronian said, blowing tabac smoke in the air.

 

[Nyx N1X3]

The dark blue, almost black droid stepped through the doorway that led into the casino. Its red eyes glowed within dark orbs as it seemed to pause to scan the interior. A moment later it began striding toward the bar without giving the patrons a second glance where the feminine-looking figure then waited until a bartender drifted up.

At a distance and under scattered light someone might mistake her for a Chiss wearing a skin-tight suit; up close, however, the fine separations of plates could be made out. The man scowled at the sight. "We don't serve droids here." His voice didn't carry far, but the tone held no patience for some rambling machine to excuse its presence.

Several coins dropped out of Nyx's forearm and clattered atop the counter between them. "You do not serve paying customers?"

His eyes fell to the money for just a moment taking stock of the coinage. They lifted after a second, the Rodian's posture less stiff, but the organic tissue around its eyes was still taunt. "And what's this for?" he asked expecting the droid to ask for some imported oil or some nonsense.

"Alcohol. What is good here?" Every new bar started this way. Well, some were more hostile. This would had the makings of trouble, but Nyx could handle it.

"Uh huh." Alcohol? For a droid? "Galaxy's gone karking mad," the bartender grumbled as he drew up a bottle to pour the droid a drink.

When the glass was slid across the counter, Nyx's fingers carefully lifted the container to her lips. It slid down her throat with practiced ease. She held the glass before her and took a moment before commenting, "Antakarian Fire Dancer. Another, please."

Second one in hand, Nyx turned and surveyed the crowd again. Off to one side sat a table with two gentlemen and a deck of cards. Sabacc? The sport of gambling. A test of character and wit as much as skill or luck. It beckoned the droid closer. Her feet fell on the floor with an even and balanced gait. It did not ring of the metal her chassis was built from despite the lack of leather flesh or plant material covering her feet. "Gentlemen." Nyx looked from the Corellian to the Devaronian. Two interesting cultures that would make for a lively game.

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Baldor turned to the new arrival, motioning his drink to her in acknowledgement. He eyed her up and down, before taking a sip of his cocktail. "Well, hello there. Not every day you see a lass like yourself in a place like this," he said after he was done looking her over, taking a moment to take another puff of his tabac stick.

"Not that I mind seeing what I am." Aurelius smiled a wide, canine-filled smile at Nyx, placing his drink down, taking the stick out of his mouth, and holding out a ring-covered hand to her. "Aurelius Baldor, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 

[Kiff Brayde]

Kiff gave a nod and a swashbuckling smile towards the lengthy Devaronian. With the cocktail and the white fur coat, one made out of a species Kiff did not recognize but all the same looked expensive, the alien had the definite look of a scoundrel. Good, Kiff thought. Scoundrels were his type. The droid, on the other hand, was much more intriguing. With a feminine shape and voice, he took it that the droid had been programmed female but he wasn't one to assume. What interested him was that she was drinking alchohol -- and seemingly enjoying it. Kiff had seen a lot as High Marshal, but a wine-drinking droid was not one of them. He made a mental checklist to be friends with that one.

Dealing the shuffled cards to the droid and Devaronian, Kiff gave another roguish smile and shifted two credits to the Sabaac pot. Setting down the remaining cards in the center of the table, face down, he gave a sly sneak at his cards and his smile did not waver. "I trust you two know the rules of Corellian Spike?" He asked in a drawl as he shifted his position on the hoverchair. He realized that he was without drink, unlike his two opponents, and pressed a button on the arm of his hoverchair. "One Pamarthe Storm Brewer, please," he asked to the quickly-summoned serving droid. Nodding, the droid turned back to the bar to retrieve his order as he turned his head back to the table. The Devaronian -- Aurelius Baldor, the alien had said -- was to his left, so he'd be betting first.

Kiff gave another glance to his cards, holding them in a fan position away from his opponents as to not reveal his hand. Slowly, a few patrons had begun to gather around the table; high-betting games of Sabaac were always a spectacle, and you only had to look at the three gamblers to know that their purse was heavy. A Herglic and a Rodian had made their way over from their seats, and so had two Rishii who had the look of a couple. Kiff hardly gave them a glance. All that mattered was the game -- that, and winning.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Baldor's full body examination hardly registered on the droid. She'd already done the same to both of the men only without the need to reorient her sensory units' spatial coordinates. What did draw the embers of Nyx's eyes, however, was the man's voice. And the diction employed. Lass. Girl. That was surprisingly polite of him. Not everyone bothered with gender-infused word choice despite her outward appearance. There was much variety in the treatment of droids as there were species in the galaxy. "I do not believe there are other lasses such as myself," she responded simply. Though if Nyx was incorrect in that assumption she'd gladly provide financial compensation for the exchange of information.

When the Devaronian extended his hand, Nyx lifted her own to take it with measured force. Not so light as to appear weak, and not too hard as to crush bone. A touch on the heavier side, however. In some parts of the galaxy a woman needed to establish her rightful place as an equal and 'middle of the road' did not help convey that. "Baldor. I am Nyx. The pleasure is mine."

As the other man began dealing cards, with some landing before an empty seat, Nyx's cranial unit pivoted to examine the spot. She soon lowered herself into the seat so her six foot frame was not towering over the men sitting at the table. Being dealt in so quickly had caught the droid off guard much like the game itself could. Probabilities were just that -- a likelihood of occurrence. Unknown or unknowable variables existed that could make the most unlikely of probabilities come true. It seemed today luck was with her, as they said.

"Corellian Spike. Referring to the sixty-two card variant of sabacc with three tosses of dice per round," Nyx replied to Kiff's question. The object of this game would not be to reach twenty-three, but zero. Kiff would have a natural edge on the game, having chosen it himself as a familiar rule set. Baldor was a bit more of a mystery when it came to his gambling exposure.

Nyx reached forward as Kiff received a drink upon request. She lifted one end of the cards on the table and committed their values to her memory banks. Since Baldor was to Kiff's left it would be his for first action. The growing crowd was not so much an interest to the droid as the men sharing a round of sabacc with her were. A golden opportunity to engage in social recreation with potential for financial gain or ruin. In a sense, a dogfight only without trying to kill one another. Typically.

Spoiler

[member='Kiff Brayde'] & [member='Aurelius Baldor']

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Aurelius held no prejudices against others for their physical characteristics or who they chose to lie with, so he had no problem treating Nyx as an equal, droid though she may be. She presented herself as female, after all, so it would only be rude to treat her otherwise. "Oh, there aren't, are there? I should consider myself doubly lucky to have crossed paths with you, then." After the handshake ceased he wasted no time moving that hand from hers to his cocktail. "Nice handshake. Firm. Asserting yourself as an equal, all that jiz. I dig it." He chuckled, lifting the drink to his lips and downing the rest. He placed the tabac stick back between his teeth, picking up his cards.

Aurelius only looked at them for a moment before he raised his bet, tossing a few more credits into the pot. Truth be told, this was more about networking, meeting new people, than actually winning money. He beckoned to the serving droid. "A bottle of Whyren's Reserve, if you would be so kind," the Devaronian said, placing his now empty cup on the tray. The droid nodded, uttering a quick "Of course, sir," before hurrying off to the bar for the bottle. Aurelius took a puff of his tabac stick, and motioned at Kiff with his chin. "What about you, pal? What's your story?"

Spoiler

[member="Nyx N1X3"]
[member="Kiff Brayde"]

 

[Kiff Brayde]

Kiff gave a cool smile towards Aurelius, shifting the cards in his hands. "I was born on the streets and worked my way up the ladder. Now, I'm about to win a large pile of credits," He said in his drawl as he nodded towards the droid to toss in her bet. "You haven't told us you're story. A man like you, I expect it to be impressive," Kiff said slyly as he looked at the Devaronian over the top of his cards, fanning away the tabac smoke before it reached his nose. He drank, but he was no smoker; replacement livers were cheaper than lungs. Moving his right hand down to the table, he absentmindedly tapped his fingernails on the hard metal surface as he waited for the droid to make her move.

After what seemed like forever, but was more likely another couple of seconds, the serving droid from earlier returned with his drink. The concoction so very much looked like its namesake; the dark grey brew inside swirled and mixed like it was a miniature storm, and if you looked closely enough you could see tiny darts of electricity riveting through the alcohol. It was non-lethal, but added a small shock that the hardened spacers on Pamarthe seemed to enjoy. Kiff had drunk it once at a bar on Teyr, and he couldn't seem to rid himself of the excitement that he got every time when a small burst of electricity coursed through his throat.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Nyx's gaze lingered on Aurelius after the handshake ended. He commented on the firmness, which he droid noted in the dossier she'd opened regarding the Devaronian. An observant man. Intelligent. Appeared cavalier or well at ease, but there was that certain quality Nyx could not put to words about Baldor just yet. Further observation would be required.

Her attention was quickly drawn to Kiff as the man made a brief comment of himself, but little more. As tight lipped as they came it seemed while still appearing friendly. Was it to keep his opponents from throwing him off his game by asking personal questions? The less you knew, the more general the questions remained. On the other hand, she too wouldn't mind hearing more of the horned man sharing the table.

Credits appeared between Nyx's fingers as through from thin air and were quickly tossed into the pile. Not set or stacked with meticulous precision. This was not her first card game, and she'd had organics given her 'pointers' on how to enjoy the experience. In truth, however, the droid felt it probably helped the organic sentients enjoy the experience more than her. The game was about more than just winning at cards.

Spoiler

[member='Kiff Brayde'] & [member='Aurelius Baldor']

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Aurelius blew a puff of tabac smoke into the air, away from anyone's face. "Shifting attention away from yourself, eh? Alright, I'll bite" Aurelius grinned, tabac stick in the corner of his wide smile. "Me, I used to run with Black Sun, clawed my way up from the bottom, same as you, until I was cracking skulls for one of the Vigos." Aurelius paused, placing his tabac stick in an ash tray and absently looking at his own clawed, ringed hand. The very faintest echo of the Black Sun symbol could be seen on the back of his palm, but only if one looked very closely, especially with his other tattoos drawing attention away from it. "But then the money stopped coming, the Sun set, and I was left on my own." The serving droid returned with the bottle of Reserve, which Aurelius took gratefully, replacing it with some credits as the droid wandered off again. He uncorked the bottle and took a big swig of the expensive Corellian whiskey, then set the bottle on the table.

Relaxing in his seat and getting comfortable he put the bottle down and took a long drag of his tabac stick, blowing the smoke out his nose as he shrugged the fur coat onto the back of the chair. Beneath it, a smart black suit and a red silk shirt, unbuttoned enough to give a nice view of his chest tattoo. "But I couldn't be happier. Now, I'm in control of my own life. The master of my own destiny." Taking his cards up again, he waited for the dealer to deal the players their spike card. He turned his attention to Nyx once more, motioning at her with the hand holding his tabac stick, making sure the other players don't see his cards. "Your turn, Miss Nyx, spare us no details," the Devaronian said with a grin.

Spoiler

[member="Nyx N1X3"]
[member="Kiff Brayde"]

 

[Kiff Brayde]

"Interesting enough," Kiff said as he gave a shrewd smile. He set down his cards on the table, facing down as he took a drink of the Storm Brewer before setting down the glass, not taking his eyes off of the Devaronian. Electricity coursed through his mouth, and he puckered his lips slightly in an involuntary response. Covering his mouth with his fist to stifle a cough, he titled his head and gave a another shrewd smile, his blue eyes flashing. "Do you still run a business in crime, or have you finally decided to turn over a new leaf and join the life of fine wine and gambling?"

It was a jest, slightly at Aurelius's expense, but Kiff meant no ill will. He couldn't help it when his smile widened as a few onlookers chuckled, one drunk Sullustan chortling into his goblet, spilling wine as his drink sloshed. Meanwhile, Kiff threw fistful of credits into the growing pot. Now with two free hands, he dealt the spike card facing-up to each of the players; a negative two for Aurelius, a seven for the droid -- he still had yet to get her name -- and a five for him. Now came the buying phase, and Kiff threw two more credits into the pile before picking up the top card off of the draw pile. It was a four, and he discarded the five in it's place.

Leaning back to signal that he was finished with his buying portion, he waited for the other two to make their moves and for the droid to talk. Another mouthful of Storm Brewer and electricity ran down his throat. Oh, how fun.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Black Sun. Criminal organization responsible for countless acts of smuggling, piracy, slicing, assassination... Currently believed to be inactive. Expectation is another group will inevitably adopt the name again once certain its former leadership is no longer lurking in shadow. In their present state of activity, other criminal organizations have sought to carve up the territory and seizing whatever financial and material riches as a result. A diversity of which makes it difficult to facilitate widespread underworld or underground relations. However work continues toward that aim to ensure stability in the galaxy.

A quick summary that flash through the droid's processors before Aurelius uttered the next word. Further enumerations of names and organizations continued, but Aurelius' participation in such a well known group had caught the droid's attention.

It then fell to Nyx to converse with the men at the table, the quick opening exchange between them fulfilled, but far from over. Were she a protocol droid with a penchant for being overly verbose, Baldor's invitation to spare no details would have been the bane of every ear nearby. Perhaps, she evaluated, that was the point. "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you of my beginnings. An attempt to reprogram me resulted in the sudden deaths of my enemies, but also in the loss of my memory banks. Since that time I have explored the galaxy, and am now in the service of a mercenary squadron. We often engage in what some would call 'reckless' and 'death-defying' missions in exchange for fair compensation."

Two credits hit the pile where after Nyx awaited receipt of another card. A negative three. She also collected the two she'd left on the table into her hand. "Before the squadron, there was even a time when I knew sentients of your background, Mister Baldor," the droid added as her glowing eyes shifted in his direction. "It was an interesting, informative, and lucrative opportunity." As she'd been speaking, the three cards in her hand had shifted positions. Then a five was laid of her own for discard.

Nyx's cranial unit turned to their dealer then, "If you do not mind me asking, what should I call you? I am Nyx." While she had given Baldor her name, which Kiff may or may not have heard, she did not recall catching the Corellian's name -- even if she already knew it.

Spoiler

[member='Kiff Brayde'] & [member='Aurelius Baldor']

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Aurelius chuckled at Kiff's question. "Both, my friend. Both. I run my own operation, sure but life's too short to spend every minute shut away in some palace. After all, if I did, I wouldn't meet people like you two." He puffed his tabac stick, smoking the last of it before putting it out in the ash tray. He put two more credits in the pot and drew the next card. The sylop, Corellian Spike version of The Idiot card. He replaced a plus nine in his hand with the card, leaving him with a zero, a minus three, and a ten. "Not that we know much about you yet. Shifting attention away from yourself again, seems to me. Something to hide, I wonder? Or do you just not like talking about yourself? Least you can do is give us a name." Aurelius wasn't sure what to make of Kiff, but he imagined it was most likely the former, not the latter. He watched the man's movements, his mannerisms, to see if he could discern what kind of occupation the man held, where he was from. But he wasn't going to waste too much time or energy on Kiff. If he wanted to act all mysterious, that was fine by him, Aurelius had other matters at the table. As the next round of betting began, Aurelius tossed some more credits in the pot and raised his bet again.

Aurelius turned back to Nyx and smiled. "You, though, you sound like just my kinda woman. And I would be happy to have someone such as yourself at my side, if you would like to partake in those experiences once more...and perhaps a few new ones," the Devaronian said, giving her a sly wink before taking another drink from the bottle of Whyren's. He was interested in how Nyx would take his advances, but that's not to say they were insincere. Droids were still new territory for him, but what's life without taking chances? After all, that was one of the allures of gambling. "Who knows, we might even be able to do something about those lost memories of yours. Assuming you want them back, of course." He, of course, didn't know if such a thing would be possible, but there's no harm in trying, right?

Spoiler

[member="Nyx N1X3"]
[member="Kiff Brayde"]

 

[Kiff Brayde]

"The name's Kiff," Kiff said plainly. It wasn't true that Kiff had something to hide, but more rather the fact that he didn't want the entire casino to know their was a Confederacy High Marshal in their presence. Not everyone in the room was friendly with the Confederacy, and Kiff didn't want word escaping to his superiors. While gambling was technically allowed for officers, it was frowned upon to do so in an unsupervised setting. Besides, listening to the Devaronian try and flirt with the droid was much more entertaining then any war stories Kiff had.

Kiff cast his bet, another couple of credits, and grinned towards his two opponents as he grabbed the spike dice and began to shake them in his hand. "Now comes the fun part," he exclaimed as he rolled the dice out of his palm and onto the metal table, the glow of the pink-and-blue light rimming the metal surface casting off the bone-white dice. Coming to a rest as they clattered loudly against the table, two squares came up -- a double. The crowd gave a shout in excitement as Kiff threw two of his cards into the bottom of the draw pile and motioned for his fellow players to do the same. Kiff himself drew a sylop and a negative seven, a good hand but not necessarily a winning one. Fanning his cards out again, he took a sip of his drink without taking his eyes off of his opponents -- they were now in the heat of the game, and things were getting intense.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Nyx matched the current wager a second after Baldor raised it once more. The probabilities of winning were strong at that moment, and she wouldn't be thrown off by the Devaronian constantly throwing in money to rattle his opponents' resolve.

Unexpectedly, however, the horned man confessed she was his kind of woman. Gently glowing, red eyes turned in his direction at such a curious statement. Baldor added his intention was one of criminal enterprise, and seemingly he had determined Nyx to be suitable in this endeavor. It was an offer that both professionally and personally interested her. The latter from the form it might take so long as it was not a task any droid could perform. Such an experience she'd already had once and saw no further value in entertaining again. Professionally anything was on the table, and his offer was something Nyx had hoped to inspire.

Then there was the matter of the wink. In the space of a second Nyx evaluated what he'd said again and wondered if she had been wrong to assume it was all business. The earlier comment could be interpreted either way, but the wink suggested as much personal interest as business. Why would the Devaronian be interested in such a fashion, however? Nyx was not that kind of droid.

Kiff had the damnedest timing too. He finally said his name and it was around the same time Nyx was busy evaluating organic irregularities in social interactions. So it would seem the man did not use an alias, but sought to avoid immediate recognition.

"I would be open to discussing the available opportunities, Mister Baldor," Nyx finally replied. "However, I do not require assistance recovering the lost data. It would be extremely dangerous, and I am content with who I am today without that knowledge." Of course an organic might be more inclined to scratch at the block on their mind to uncover their past. Nyx was just as curious, but did not feel any overwhelming drive to find out -- not more than the drive to continue uncovering any other bit of knowledge or understanding she could. And the risk to anyone that tried the effort was substantial. She hoped Baldor kept in mind what she'd said earlier about the last group that tried meddling with her core. "Thank you for offering."

The dealer rattled the dice in hand, which drew Nyx's attention back to the game. Ah, yes, the roll.

And doubles.

If she were organic she might have been inclined to sigh. The negative six and three slipped away as required by the rules. She'd been rather close to zero with the cards in hand, but then the dice did exactly as they were intended -- introduce unpredictability into the game. Perhaps this was the reason for Kiff's confidence inviting a droid to the table. Or perhaps the man was simply that confident in his gambling acumen.

Given the state of the game, the droid lifted her own glass and drank half of its contents. "This has certainly become an interesting game." In more ways than one.

"Kiff, have you been playing Corellian Spike long? You appear to be a skilled dealer of the table." She did not want to be unsociable. Perhaps if she reached out to the man about the game he would be more open to the conversation.

Spoiler

[member='Kiff Brayde'] & [member='Aurelius Baldor']

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Aurelius chuckled, as the doubles came up, discarding the two cards required. "It has indeed taken an interesting turn." He lost the minus three and the ten for a four and a negative ten. That would be negative six. He shrugged apathetically, not letting the players glean anything. "And besides gambling, what do you do for a living, Kiff? You know we're going to find out one way or another." He drank from the bottle once more. Not very talkative, this Kiff fellow. He seemed to be an experienced gambler, or at least he tried to appear as one. But he doubted that was the whole story.

Another toothy grin found itself aimed at Nyx as he took notice of the gentle movement of her eyes. "Fair enough. I live for danger, but if you don't want to know I won't push you. Hang around after the game and we can talk business...and whatever happens to come after." She was interested, that much he could tell. At the least, he's most likely found a new partner in crime. At most...well, let's see where this goes first. He stayed relaxed in his chair. This had become interesting, both in the plays of the game and the conversation that was unfolding. Holding his cards fanned out in one hand, he absently tapped the table with his other hand. "Come on, Kiff, we've shared our stories, it's only fair you do the same."

Spoiler

[member="Nyx N1X3"]

Spoiler

[member="Kiff Brayde"]

 

[Kiff Brayde]

Kiff sighed, setting down his cards. He wasn't keen to share his status as High Marshal, but it seemed that Aurelius and Nyx intended to find out as much as possible about him. "I was born on Arkanis, in the slums," he said relentingly. "You learn a lot on the streets, including how to play Corellian Spike. Eventually I got enough funds from gambling and some surprisingly honest work, and I was able to land myself into the Arkanis Naval Academy. I graduated from there into the Confederacy Defense Force." He said at length, as the crowd remained silent. His face was serious, but looking around he gave another grin and picked his cards back up. "If you want to hear more, though, you'll have to bet higher than that. I'm in it to win," he jested as the crowd erupted into laughter.

Sipping his drink as the crowd faded down into a chuckle, he dealt the second round of spike cards. A red one meant a negative, Kiff knowingly tucked it away, pausing for dramatic affect as a few members of the crowd well-educated in the rules of Corellian Spike nodded approvingly. A negative or positive one was almost as valuable as a Sylops, if played rightly. Smirking, Kiff tossed two credits onto the table before drawing a card and replacing his seven with it. He frowned on the inside when he saw that it was a six -- not much better -- but his smirk and spark in his eyes played the same. The High Marshal wasn't about to lose a game of Sabaac to a slip of the face. "I do have to say, I hope you are better sports losing than the people on Arkanis are," he joked to another chorus of laughter. The drink, the laughter, the excitement -- Kiff thrived on it. It was the antidote to the relentless campaigns, although he did find those exciting as well. At least in Sabaac you didn't have the chance of being vaporized on the spot; although, when he thought about it, that wasn't quite true depending on who you played with.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

 

[Nyx N1X3]

"Intriguing," Nyx replied once Kiff opened up a bit. "It would appear, in our own ways, we come from similar backgrounds." They had all struggled to survive despite relatively poor circumstances. "Through relentless application of our talents each of us grew stronger." If Kiff was concerned how association with the Confederacy might be received, the droid was happy to blunt some of that distrust. However Nyx wouldn't try standing on a soap box while gambling that would draw a little too much attention; and, Nyx lamented, they would probably dismiss her thoughts as being programmed into her by the Confederates. Confirmation bias was quite troublesome.

At the Corellian's joke, Nyx lifted her chin to regard the man for a moment. "I believe I have only ever decapitated one victorious opponent so far." A beat if her auditory receptors suggested the mirth fell at the comment rather than lifted once more. "That was a joke."

The new cards slipped off the table and into Nyx's fingers. A negative five and Idiot, with a seven face up atop the table. Curious. Of course she waited for Baldor's move first. There seemed to be no need to draw another card and so the droid declined do to do this round. At that point there was only one thing left to do; the droid doubled whatever bet the Devaronian made -- whether he called or raised it first himself as he seemed inclined to do. "I would not want to bore the crowd," she remarked.

Spoiler

[member='Kiff Brayde'] & [member='Aurelius Baldor']

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Aurelius responded with a "fair enough" face as Kiff explained his occupation. "Ah, so you're a navy man. Not a bad profession. I can respect that," he said, motioning a small "cheers" with his bottle. The next action was to repeat the cycle of "option to buy a card, betting, and rolling of the dice", and Aurelius bought another card, throwing out two credits and taking one. A four, making negative two. Not bad at all. Tilting his head back, he downed the rest of the bottle, motioning for the serving droid. The droid came over, and Aurelius placed the empty bottle on the droid's tray, along with a tip.

As the droid made its way back to the bar, Aurelius turned his attention back to the table. "Clawed our ways up and made a name for ourselves in this wild galaxy we call home. Guess we have more in common than we thought," the Devaronian said with a chuckle. "Who woulda thought?"

Spoiler

[member="Nyx N1X3"]

Spoiler

[member="Kiff Brayde"]

 

[Kiff Brayde]

"I don't know," Kiff said dryly. "It seems that starting off on the streets is one of the most common backgrounds in the galaxy." Another round of chuckles, with even some solemnly nodding their heads. It made sense -- most of the galaxy lived in squalor, at least out in the Mid-Rim and beyond. Everyone had climbed out of their own hill, that was true; hardly anything could be truly bought or inherited, and everything earned had to be fiercely defended. For example, the earnings that Kiff had put into this round. It would be a shame to see his credits go to anyone but him.

Storm Brewer washed his throat as he tossed the spike dice once more onto the table, it rolling and clattering until it came to a stop: a square and a triangle. No match, Kiff glumly thought as the crowd's sighs and even drunken shouts agreed with him. Despite the fact that he'd have to at the least discard two of his own cards if it rolled a pair, there was always the excitement of getting a winning hand. The game was drawing into the second half, and the crowd's fervor was palpable. The Sabaac Pot was growing larger and larger, and it was only a matter of time before those credits were in someone's pocket.

Kiff threw in two more credits nonchalantly and discarded his six for what ended up being a negative six. It was the exact opposite of the card he'd been holding moments earlier, but with the negative six, four and sylop, his total ended up being negative two. Smiling devilishly, Kiff winked at his opponents before doubling the droids bet, a move that made the crowd gasp in excitement. From here on, it would be the final betting round before the final roll of the spike dice, and then the victor would be made clear. Kiff could almost taste all the liqueur he could buy with that many credits.

Spoiler

[member="Aurelius Baldor"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]