Crime Lords Like Bad girls

[James Justice]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuSm8k6LEmU[/media]​

Soceras. It was a world of pure hedonism, a world that was personified by one thing--fulfillment. And the capitol, Dal'Bor, was the epitome of it. There was a reason it was called "Vice City" and there was a reason why its crime lord was a Lord of Vice. If not The Lord of Vice. And at the center of it all, like the eye of the torrential storm was the Angel's Den, a home of pure gratification.

Everything was legal. Everything was for sale. Everything was more than permitted. It was promoted--and often enjoyed in plain view if the party got hard enough.

The air was filled with the smell of booze, pheromones, and illicit drugs. A thick haze of smoke from the fog machine and an endless supply of narcotics hazed into the air as well, making a gorgeous wreath of it all. Bodies twisted and grated through it in a wild torrent of ecstasy to the bass-rich EMD music. Laser lights sored over their heads like beacons of hope towards a repressed galaxy.

There was fulfillment, there was purity in eroticism.

The heralds of this truth twirled on the stage, their baton of purity the stripper pole they graced.

And it all, every inch of it, belonged to James Justice. The spacer twisted and savored the feeling of the crowd around him, one with it all. He stretched out with the Force, feeling it all in a trance like state. Every fiber of their estatic beings he could feel, it filled him up and he loved it all. It was what he lived for.

James pulled himself from the rave crowd, out to the fridges and up the steps that led from the dance pit to one of the 10 different bars on the balcony overhead. As he climbed up the steps, the spacer adjusted his leather jacket, ran his hand through his perfectly messy hair and worked some of the kinks out of his neck. The crime lord could still feel the buzz of the crowd bellow in his skull as he stepped up to the bar, "Ye know what I want, Dal, give me the good stuff."

The bartender had already seen his boss coming and was preparing the mixed drink ahead of time. The refreshing burn of the toxic alcoholic drink flooded James' mouth, throat, and stomach as he took in his first gulp. That was the good stuff.

 

[Riamah]

Once Ra had been on Soceras once before at the request of an old business contact. That night had been an odd one and while she remembered most of it, some of it was a haze. This time though, Ra left her pet nexu at home and came alone.

Wearing what might seem odd to some was comfortable to her. It was not a flamboyant outfit, but you could clearly see her curves. Her almost glowing hair was braided back like normal, a ball at the end that could prove to be a weapon if needed. Wearing no cloak this time, Ra walked along the sides of the room. For the moment just observing what was going on around her.

Her gold eyes taking in as much as they could as she glanced around. They never stayed too long in any one place. One movement caught her attention though longer than any others. The backside of a man that was also on the fringes of the crowd walking to the stairs in front of them. He had left the floor of dancers that was so full of emotion that it was almost intoxicating on its own. Even though she had grown up sith, this was still so new to her. Nothing prepared her for places like this, but she was learning.

The sith watched as he climbed the stairs, stretching a little and adjusting his jacket on the way up. Before he reached the top, she had not exactly followed him intentionally, but found herself drawn up to join him.

Accidently on purpose, Ra walked up to the same bar the man had and ordered her favorite drink, still quite surprised she could find it here. Taking a drink of the cool blue drink, she leaned back against the bar and turned her gaze outward again. The man was still there, also enjoying his drink.

Ra was a rather shy person if the truth was known. While she could conduct business like an ace, on a personal level it was different. Here there was no business transaction needing to be done and she didn't know really how to approach people outside of that mindset anymore. Something she would have to work on doing. Turning her attention to the man at the bar with her, her rather warm gold eyes assessed him, but she remained silent not knowing if it would be proper for her to speak first.

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

Glass in hand, James turned on his heel and leaned back against the bar, looking the place over. He had been alone long enough tonight, he was warmed up and ready to start--well, seeing what he could do about fixing that problem. He could feel her before he could see her. James was used to feeling things and feeling people, and in the half tranced state he was coming down from, his five senses were still catching up with that sixth sense. In a room full of beings intent on getting as much fun down as they could, she felt--lost. Like she didn't fit in. By the way she didn't seem freaked out or totally thrown off kilter either, she was either a great liar or rather used to the feeling. But if he was about to place bets, he was going with the latter.

The man turned to look at the woman beside him. He looked at her face, then her body, then back to her face. The man leaned closer so his voice could be heard over the booming music, flashing one of his classic smiles. "Well, ain't it my lucky day that I'd happen on ye today, miss."

He took a few more gulps form his glass, slamming the empty one down on the counter, he glanced at the barkeep, "Keep 'em coming, Dal."

"You got it," Dal said, his hands busy mixing the next drink.

"And the lady's tab is mine miss--?," he let his voice trail off, letting her finish the sentence.

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

As much as her eyes had looked him, he did the same to her. He commented it was his lucky day he had encountered her and Ra wasn't quite sure how to react to that. To hide her lack of skill in such things, she took a sip of her drink and saw he finished his and told the barkeep to keep them coming, even knowing him by name. He also said he would pick up her tab and asking her name

"Ra, just call me that."

It was how most people called her. It kept it simple and easier to remember than her full name.

"And you?"

Tilting her head to side slightly to show her interest in knowing the name of the man who wanted to pick up her drink tab.

She had never been in quite this same situation before, Ra was at a bit of loss. While she didn't show her total confusion, it would be felt.

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

"Ra," the man said, rolling the single syllable over his tongue like a tasty morsel. As a half-Zeltron, he had taken more after his mother than his father. She had given him the second liver, the empathy, and forms of low level telepathy--but most importantly she had given him the pheromones.

He could feel her sense of out of place. It was almost palpitate, even if she had a fantastic poker face. Or just a fantastic face. The gentle sent of his pheromones would fill the air, charged with a calming, easing sent. At least for now. The more intense and sensual smells could come later. Empathy went both ways. You could feel and if you learned to feel well enough, you could learn to project too. The spacer gave a hinting projection of calming too. Nothing too overt or forceful, just a little bit of confidence and assurance to help her feel better.

"James, just James," he said before taking a pull from his drink. She didn't know who he was yet. Huh, he'd leave that for her to figure out just who James Justice was.

"This is the underbelly, this is the scum, the nasty, the drunken spice shootin' poor side of the galaxy where rescued slaves come to get a better life," he said with a wave of his hand. There was more truth to that than she knew, "What brings a lovely lady like ye to this ugly side of the galaxy?"

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

He spoke her name and made it sound unique. She took a sip of the drink she had ordered and waited on his name.

Ra still felt out of place here, but not uncomfortably so. Her first time to something like this had basically sent her into shock. Now she was more in touch with her emotions than she had been then as well as those of others. Now to have all of this around didn't do that to her, but the whole idea of being so freely of showing and expressing was what she wasn't sure of.

She set her glass back down on the counter and nodded when James said his name. He then asked what had drawn her here and said this was where what many people would consider to be low life's hung out. A place where former slaves came to make a life after captivity. Knowing she did not approve of slavery for herself, she could admire a person taking a former one on as an employee. It is something she would do.

"James, I was actually here a few months ago, but came with a friend. Decided to come back alone and see if I liked it better or worse. Should have brought company. Now I have some though, so I'll enjoy it here more."

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

The spacer quirked a smile. He always was glad when someone returned to Soceras to do his business--which was more often than not, pleasure. Or shooting people. Or smuggling. But usually, it was some sort of combination of all of the above. And if the job didn't involve pleasure, well he would be sure to work it in somehow. Sure there was the part that it helped him make more money, but the spacer had more than enough to cost off of for several lifetimes. No, it was more like personal pride. That he was doing something right here.

"Well, I'm glad that ye decided to give the place a second look," he said honestly, "Its one of me favourite haunts. And, it gave me a chance to see ye."

The bar tender set James' new glass on the counter, the spacer brought it to his lips and took a trio of heavy gulps. The man didn't know how to drink light. He set his glass down and smirked impishly at her reference to having company, "Are ye hitting on me, Ra?"

He took a breath, savoring the ecstasy all around him, "Come to the bar alone, dun't leave without company, that's me motto."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

Ra looked at James and wondered what he was thinking as the smile crossed his face. It was obvious to her he was comfortable here and appeared honestly glad that she had returned. He also said it gave him a chance to see her.

Her reply to that was a small exhale of breath through her nose indicating her unbelieving attitude.

When he next drink was set down, he took large drinks of it and she raised an eyebrow at that. She could hardly drink anything before feeling at least tipsy and took her time with hers.

After he set his glass down, he asked if she had hit on him and she gave a very confused look. Blinking her eyes and shaking her head at him before she could even think to speak.

"Not at all, James. I came here, well not knowing what to expect and certainly not to hit on anybody."

In recalling her words, Ra understood how he could think that, but that's not how she intended it. Taking another sip of her drink to try and recover at least a little bit of dignity, she looked down into her glass as he spoke.

"I've never gone home with anybody like that before."

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

The man was drinking hard, he was a half Zeltron with two livers, and a lifetime of drinking since he was too young to remember. He came here to have a good time, and alcohol played no small part in that. Of course what he didn't know was the more alcohol he drank, the lower his suspicions went, and that made his connection to the Force stronger. The less his ego was in the way and the less his jaded nature was there, the more he was able to take part in the energy that combined and surrounded them.

Not at all.

"Good," the spacer shoved his hand in his jacket pocket and fished out a cigarette, setting it between his lips. "Because that is a dangerous game, ma'am," On dangerous the spacer snapped his fingers, a small spark jumped from his fingertips, lighting the stub between his lips. Puffs of sweet smelling tobacco began to fill the air around him as James savored the cigarette, a twinkle in his eyes, "I play for keeps."

I've never gone home with anyone like that before.

"Too bad," the man said flicking the ashes off the stub onto the floor, "Its fun."

She was tense. Very tense. The man could sense that some deep crap had happened to her, but he wasn't exactly sure what. The type of deep crap that either turns you into a hardass, or a hedonist like James. He was a hedonist, always trying to forget, always trying to run from his past and his mistakes. But he had another aspect. He hated to have others hurt and suffer as we.. The spacer took a deep drag from his cigareete, nudging her subconscious gently, Its alright to have a good time. Just for the night. Just to try and forget the past on a planet like this where no one knows you.

"My motto is to live. Always live, to the fullest and never fear what comes from it because," he swung his arm wide, "One day, it will be over."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

"What game are you talking about?"

Narrowing her eyes at the snap and flame, Ra realized she was going to have to be a little more careful around him. He could use the Force as well. Sith lord she might be, but even an initiate could kill her under the correct circumstances. She didn't know exactly what he could or couldn't do.

"What have you been able to keep, James?"

Ra tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow as she spoke. Taking another drink, she found her glass empty and set it on the counter. At his next words, she gave him an unbelieving look and shook her head, her mouth was partly open for a moment before she closed it. She then spoke the thoughts that came into her mind.

"Fun, there's none to be found really. What one person may think of as fun, another doesn't. I just think I'm different than the people here and that this isn't my type of fun."

Looking away for just a moment, Ra would motion with a hand to the floor below.

"The freedom they have to express I lack. Too much control on my part, I don't allow my thoughts or emotions to be expressed such as they do."

Ra turned back to James, her gold eyes showed that what she said she felt to be true.

"Ah fear, a fuel that could be used in the right hands to accomplish so much. Yes, one day it will all be over, but each person lives a different life than the next. Some are destined to be known while others are forgotten. Which do you think I will be or you?"

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

"What game are you talking about?"

The crime lord gave a very coy smile at the question. He took in a few puffs from his light, letting the grey smoke flutter from his lips. From behind the veil of wrything grey, his eyes shined, not just from the laser show and strobe lights that were happening on the dance floor, but if one paid close attention they would see sparks of tainted purple energy.

"I ever only play one game," he said, his voice thick with not only his accent but also sultry intention, "Pleasure. And I am damn good at it."

"What have you been able to keep, James?"

The question hit a nerve. It stung even though she didn't realize what she could possibly hit with that. For a man who had every woman walk out on him, vainish in thin air, die, or cheat on him--it stung. And there was no possible way she could have known that it hurt that deeply. The man grabbed a fresh glass of his mixed drink and drown the sting in alcohol. That was what he did, after all. Mask the pain with pleasure. He set the glass down and eyed her with a smirk, "I keep everythin' I want."

When her empty glass was set down, James snapped his fingers, the barkeep didn't waste a second grabbing a new glass for her and filling it up.

She said this city wasn't full of her type of fun. The spacer scratched the side of his face, "Ye'd be surprised. Tell me what ye like, I bet ye a fist fulla credits we got it." He wasn't joking. He looked down at the people on the dance floor as her second glass was set on the counter. The spacer grabbed it and offered it to her, "This is generally a good start to findin' that freedom."

When she took it the man leaned back against the counter, "More'n half of 'em didn't start out free. They be slaves. Liberated slaves, mind ye. But slavery ain't just chains on the wrists or shackles on the ankles. Thar be a deeper kind. People wear chains too long they end up with chains in thar minds, ye see? I dun't just free em from thar physical chains, I took off the mental ones--an' I taught em how to live."

What would she be to him? He shrugged, "Ye might be a distant memory, I might end up too drunk af'er a few more hours that I dun't remember me own da's name. That's all dependant on who ye chose to be. And what ye chose to do."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

Ra watched him take a puff of his smoke and how it traveled around his face. He claimed he played the game of pleasure and that he was good at it. Not just good, but damn good. For now, she would just take his word on it. Her next question though had hit something in him, but she didn't and couldn't know what. His body language changed, he grabbed his new drink and downed it in what looked like one large swallow.

In the short time they had been chatting, she had only one drink and he was on at least third or fourth, Ra had lost count. It didn't really matter to her, but she was sure he would be feeling it the next day. Not knowing what he had previous to them meeting, she was surprised he was still standing. She couldn't hold her drink well, but accepted the next glass when he handed it to her. Only ever drinking in moderation, she had only heard tales of the morning after and had no desire to go through it herself. She knew her limits and would stop when she reached it.

An observation about the fun to be had here did perk her interest, but from what Ra had been able to gather through observation alone, she wouldn't find it here. Taking a sip of the drink, she set the glass down on the bar. Looking at James, an honest look crossed her features before going back to the more neutral look she favored.

"Knowledge. That is what I find fun."

It was a broad reply, but an honest one. She wasn't going to lie to him if she could avoid it unless he gave her reason to. He further commented about the slaves and how he gave them freedom of both body and mind. The slaves she had freed could come or go as they pleased, maybe some had wound up here. Ra wouldn't ever know.

In answer to her last question, it wasn't exactly what she expected. Though she felt James did answer honestly to her.

"You're lucky to have a father."

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

James almost choked on his lungfull of cigarette smoke at her answer. Knowledge? Poor girl. She needed so much more alcohol. The repression was strong with this one. He would have to be her liberator. However that was gonna be. It was a common misconception that James was some sort of selfish, evil guy. Yeah, he was the king of hedonists, a massive drunk, a thief, a smuggler, and an all around crime lord. But that didn't mean that he was some sort of monster. He was a nice guy under all that stuff who just wanted to help people.

"Knowledge, eh?" he said dusting the ashes off his cigarette. "Well, we do have a pretty amazing library here on Soceras. Me own private collection," he leaned in close towards Ra, his breath smelling sweat of alcohol and tobacco, his pheremones were even closer by the increased proximity, "Tell ye a secret? Just ye and me? I read. Fool a lot of folk, they think I just be dumb rabble cause I no talkie right. But," he said with a shrug, "When ye smuggle, ye got a lotta dead time atween planets. Plenty a time to read. I dunno if you could read some of 'em."

And James was a polygot. When you traversed the galaxy all the time, there was a need to pick up a lot of the languages and not just Basic and Huttese.

She mentioned his father as James took a long draft on his light. A laugh escaped his lips, laced with smoke. "Aye, a da who took me to bars, taught me to drink, smoke, and chase skirts to run off on his own too--" he shook his head in rueful rememberance, "Aye, but da tried. He did. So I guess I be lucky on that account that he tried. Cause he showed me that it ain't succeeding that counts. Its tryin', even when ye know ye gonna fail."

 

[Riamah]

Her answer to his question surprised him as James almost choked on his smoke. Allowing him the time to catch his breath, Ra took a sip of her drink and waited to hear what he had to say. The reply was almost as surprising to her as hers had been to him. Turning her head, her brows up just slightly in her own surprise.

"A library here really? It looks like it's nothing but a party planet."

He leaned in closer to her to almost whisper as if he was telling her a secret like he said. Giving him a half smile at his words, she nodded. While she hadn't ever been a smuggler, she had done her share of spacing and knew about travel times. Having something to keep a mind occupied was something Ra fully appreciated.

"I can speak many languages and sound like I come from that planet quite easily."

Allowing him to remain close, she listened to what he said about his father. That he had tried and then instilled in his son the ability to keep going even if the endeavor was going to fail. She nodded at this, but didn't say anything in reply. Her own father had died before she could even really remember him. At least not on a close personal level.

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

"Ah, miss," he said shaking his head at her assumption, "Thar be one rule about this galaxy; ne'er e'er take the obvious at face value."

She mentioned she could speak a number of different languages, James as he took the very last puff from his cigarette, he pointed to her appreciatively, "That thar be good. Just knowin' the readin' be all ye gotta do," he flicked the cigarette into one of the ash trays on the other side of the bar with seasoned marksmanship.

"But fer now," the man slapped the bar, "finish ye drink. We ain't bout to waste good liquor round here for no reason."

When she was done, the man lead her out one of the side entrances going off to the west. When they came out the hall, it lead them to a private landing pad with several expensive, well-polished speeders and air speeders along both the left and right sides of the durcarete platform. The man grabbed a random pair of keys off the peg board by the door and lead Ra to a very pristine and expensive two seater speeder.

"Ye like it?" he asked over the roar of the engine as he cracked it up, "Made it meself. She's a fine lady, but dun't go screwin' with the leather."

The moment Ra was inside, the spacer slammed on the gas, sending the Red Burner peeling away into the air space traffic. As the speeder tore through airspace at rediculously unsafe speeds, James reached across Ra and grabbed a bottle of ale from the console across from her. His eyes didn't even glance at the road as the man unscrewed the bottle and took a few heavy gulp. He offered her a chance to drink strait from the bottle as he swerved strait through oncoming traffic into a different lane. After no less than a dozen near accidents, and two dozen near death experiences that James drank through them all, the Red Burner finally pulled to a halt in front of a massive, aged stone building. Its sagacious marble columns framed double guilded copper doors.

With a heavy grunt, James heaved himself from the speeder, bottle still in hand, and half staggered towards the door, almost falling on his face. He stumbled up the steps of the aged building, half singing a tone deaf tune about a night far off on the seas of Mon Calimari.

"Ok, ye ready?" He asked looking at Ra when he reached the door, "Oi! No, ye ain't ready. This library's got a four drink minimum, since this just be a party planet," he shoved the mostly empty bottle into her hands, 'So drink up."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

James had a point about taking things at face value. It raised her curiosity a little about him. He was known by the bartender here and given whatever he wanted without question. Led Ra to think he was more than just a simple regular patron here. She didn't say anything about it though. He threw his smoke away and said all that was needed beyond speaking was the reading of the language as well. That wasn't something she had tried to do before nor had she given it much thought.

He practically ordered her to finish her drink. She was a light drinker and not used to finishing in a hurry, but she did this one and followed James out of the bar to the waiting row of speeders. Two drinks in her system and one down rather quickly, Ra was feeling a little tipsy, but not out of control.

She looked at the sporty two seater and nodded in appreciation.

"I wouldn't think of messing with this girl. Very nice."

Climbing in and barely having taken her seat before James took off into the traffic of the planet. They almost got into three dozen accidents, but somehow arrived at a building a little out of place on this world, but looked like one she could enjoy. He handed her the bottle he had just been drinking from and told her she needed to drink it.

"What do you mean I'm not ready? Can't go in with a clouded mind and learn much."

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

James heard her objection to the extra booze. The man shook his head with a snort.

"A clouded mind? Ye mind already be clouded," he retorted. "Too much 'a the thinkin'. Ye got too much going on up 'ere," the man motioned to her head, "to know what be goin' on down 'ere," he motioned to the rest of her body. "Ye can't hear yeself if ye be tellin' yeself to shut up. And how can ye be learnin' anythin' if ye cain't hear yeself?"

Maybe it was just drunk gibberish, or maybe it was actual wisdom of a man who knew that self-knowledge was a beautiful thing. Or maybe it was both mixed in with too much to tell what was which. Either way, he leaned back against the nearby marble collumn and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. With another snap of his fingers he set the end little stub ablaze and gave it a soft puff.

"Asides," he grunted between puffs, "This just be a party planet. We gotta keep up our reputation for that, aye?"

She would probably never live that down. Ever.

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

James didn't seem to think what Ra thought of as a clear mind wasn't in his opinion. His other words and suggestions weren't entirely lost on her and she gave him a slightly confused look.

"I can too hear myself just fine!"

Letting out a small growl, but not an angry one, Ra did drink some from the bottle he had handed her. Already being tipsy was fine, she didn't want to go further than that though. If she was being honest, she was concerned about what might happen if she did get drunk. Always maintaining a hold as strong as she did and not losing control might be more difficult to do if she was drunk.

"This might be a party planet, but I just don't think I'm a party girl."

Taking another drink, but not the rest of the bottle, Ra walked over to James as he was smoking.

"To be honest, I have no idea how listen to anything other my head. Logic and all that."

The last was true as well. All she had ever done was listen to her thoughts and didn't do something that didn't seem logical. Always carefully planned her actions and reactions through though. She might be sith, but Ra did not allow her emotions to control her.

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

She said she didn't think she was a party girl. The man smirked. It was humorous, to say the least. Her protests. She was so close to the dark, so close to the shadows but she was more terrified than anything to lose control. She had even protested that she could hear herself just fine. As a student of people, or even just an empath, he could call that as flat out Tauntaun crap. But that was neither here nor there. She would find her liberation, it would just take time. And effort on his part, he could bet. "I ne'er met a being who weren't a party girl or lad. I just found beings who ain't realized it yet."

The man gave an approving nod as she took a drink from the bottle. It was a step in the right direction, she was on her way. But she still had some way to go. When she took a second step by admitting she wasn't in touch with her mind, her inner being, he let her words hang in the air for a second. The spacer took a few puffs on his cigarette, the ash flaking off and falling to the ground in delicate, snow-flake like cascades.

He took the bottle back from her, brandishing it like a torch in the dark, "This be the key," He took another pull from it. "E'ery one be a slave to somethin'. Most be slaves to their fears. Fear o' poverty. Fear o' losing. Fear o' failure. Fear o' embarrassment. Fear o' dying. Fear o' losing control," he gave her a second to think about it. "And when we let fear be our king, we cut off this," he tapped his forehead with the bottle, "And this," he tapped his chest with the bottle, "And if that be what we lose, then we be damned 'afore we e'er start a'thing."

What was James a a slave to? Some thought it was his lusts, his gluttony of all that was pleasurable. He could only ever engorge more and more and devour it all till it devoured him. But the pleasure was only a tool. A tool to silence the screams in his mind and the pain her could never quelch. Pleasure was his balm to the thing that controlled him.

"Ye start getting in touch with that by breakin' off what controls ye," the man motioned to the door, "If ye want in, go. I won't stop ye, but first ask yeself is that what ye really want right naw? Or, would ye really rather polish the rest o' this bottle off with me?"

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

James said he had never met a person that wasn't one to like to party. She found this hard to believe, but kept that thought to herself. The silence between them was not tense in any way, but yet it held a sense of thought or emotion. Ra couldn't quite put her finger on it. He took the bottle from her and suggested drinking was the key.

Giving him a slightly confused look, she let him finish what he was saying. She shook her head before speaking her mind.

"I'm not a slave to anything. Hell, I don't like the thought of slavery."

Even though he had said pretty much what she feared on more than one level, Ra wasn't going to admit that to him. He then ask if knowledge was really want she wanted and she had to think for a few moments before being able to answer. Looking directly at him, her gold eyes showed her words would be true.

"I want both, James. Besides, there's not much left in the bottle."

Taking it from him, Ra took another drink and held it out to James again.

[member="James Justice"]