Er'Kit's Tihaar Gambit (CoM & Allies)

[Yasha Cadera]

Where had the tihaar gone?

This was a question of monumental import to the free people of Er’kit, and the city of New Cradle. Built by the slaves Mand’alor the Infernal freed both from the Sith Empire, and the surrounding planets, the city of New Cradle was a place of freedom. A monumental shift from the former slaver planet, to a place all who desired freedom could inhabit. Schools and hospitals were constructed, engineering training programs built, every month it seemed more buildings went up on the ecologically meticulous city, planned by the best and brightest engineers, city planners, architects and freed people of the Clans of Mandalore.

A massive celebration opened the consecration of New Cradle, where Yasha might add, the percolations of a relationship opened for her then-newly resurrected mother [member="Aditya Fitz Kierke"] and [member="Adenn Kyramud"].

It was Aditya who first brought the issue to Yasha’s attention, after a fevered message from her sister, the architect Peggy Fitz Kierke.

“Yash! The Er’kitians are starving for libations! All the tihaar’s gone! All of it, not a speck on the planet to be found! No whiskey, no wine, nothing but coolers with more sugar than sense, and less than 1% alcohol. Fix it, or you’re gonna have a rebellion on your hands!” Aditya’s pregnant belly wobbled as she walked off to meddle in her grandbaby’s lives, the meddling in her daughter’s done for the moment.

“Yes, Mama… I’ll get on it.” Yasha groaned, pondering the situation for a few minutes, before flicking her secure channel to [member="Caz Australis"]. “Hey, baby? You know that weekend I promised on Vena? Yeah, I’m gonna have to cancel. There’s a mystery afoot on Er’kit, and I get the feeling it’s more than a simple missed shipment or two. Unless you want to come with? Help me out? Papa can watch the kids, oh, wait, he’s on maneuvers… ummm…”

Yasha blinked, and a wicked grin swathed her face.

“No, Aditya can watch them. Yep! Mama’ll watch her grandbabies. What do you think? Is Kain’ik with you? Will he want to be in on this, or is he still teaching Reyn wilderness survival?” Try as she might, without constant reminders Yasha could never remember where everybody was. Not when she had an entire empire to run.

Message off, Yasha began to make calls and delegate responsibilities to solve…

The Tihaar Gambit!​

Three Days Later,
New Cradle, Er’kit

Mand’alor the Infernal’s ship touched down with a cargo bay full of libations. She stepped off with her guards, grey cape swelling behind her as she met with the delegation from the newly elected Er’Kit Senate. A mixture of species, cultures and Clans, the people of Er’kit were still settling into their lives, and allowing them a Senate of democratically elected officials from each district seemed to have been an easier way-point.

Senator K’plaa, a Ploovian gentleman bobbed on his fat wings, as he wobbled forward.

“Most gracious Mand’alor, you and your compatriots are most welcome in our time of need. Please, come with me and we shall begin.” He bowed, a slight glaze to his foggy eyes.

Yasha looked to her compatriots, people from across the Empire and trusted friends. “Shall we?”

 

[Mig Gred]

Mig's bounty hunting ship Basilisk slowly landed at New Cradle. It had been sometime since the Alor had visited the location, but he wasn't here to visit. His trip was to help find the missing Tihaar. How exactly a Mandalorian world managed to lose it's alcohol was lost to him. Hopefully he'd be able to help them though. As Mig stepped off, he was followed by R10 and O7. Maybe the droids could find something. Mig then walked up to see [member="Yasha Cadera"] .

"Mand'alor. Anything yet?"

 

[Adenn Kyramud]

New Cradle, the place where he had met [member="Aditya Fitz Kierke"], the place that had started something great for Adenn. He had a sort of connection to the place, even if he'd only been there once, the place still had a special spot in his heart. Now that special spot was out of alcohol, an inconceivable idea, especially for a Mandalorian planet. But it wasn't that they were out of it, just that it had all just up and vanished and no one knew where or how. Thus the population had called for the Mando'ades help, and the Mand'alor had given it.

That was why Adenn found himself here and now, back on New Cradle, but this time without Aditya. The thought saddened him slightly, but at the same time, where she was now amused him greatly, watching over the grandchildren. Grinning at the thought, Adenn turned away from his musings and back to the present, back to the group he was with. Adenn had come in the ship with [member="Yasha Cadera"] and the drinks, he had given some extra drinks to it, but had planned more on finding the rest of the drinks.

Thus when she asked "Shall we?" he nodded his agreement. When [member="Mig Gred"] came over, Adenn gave a nod to him in greeting before walking forward and away a bit. He'd let them talk while he observed the surrounding area, searching for clues as to what could've happened. Not spotting anything, Adenn turned to face the Mand'alor and gave a quick salute, fist clenched to his chest, before moving off. He wanted to get a headstart on the questioning, and thus decided to move off and towards a nearby bar. They'd figure out what had happened, and whoever had taken the alcohol, if anyone had that is, they'd pay for it wholesale.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Nothing yet, [member="Mig Gred"]. Only more losses, the second alcohol touches down on this planet, it disappears.” Yasha grimaced under her helm, looking between the others she brought with her. [member="Tamar Fitz Kierke"] peeked out from behind Yasha, trotting down the hangar bay door with a smile on her face. She hopped behind Mig, throwing her arms momentarily around his neck.

“You’re not dead! Pew pew.” Tamar laughed, before sliding in beside her beau, and taking a deep breath in. “Well it’s a beautiful day for a mystery in the first place! Oh, looks like Adenn’s already gone off.”

A long pause…

The Cradle Robber was the closest new bar [member="Adenn Kyramud"] would be able to find. Squeaky doors were left open with the aid of a durasteel girder too battered and kinked to be of use in the building projects.

“No booze. Go home.” Tilly the Bartender groaned, sitting on a stool behind the bar, chin propped in his hand, elbow on the bartop. He flicked his finger at his data pad, flipping a page of his holonovel. “‘Less y’want somethin’ t’eat. Got that. But you won’t like it much. Slave food, y’know? Only thing Cookie wants t’make. Nostalgic for us lot… oh you’re a Mando-Mando. Huh. Got any tihaar? I’m dying for a drink.”

A bartender without a stash?

As Adenn discovered the mystery of the Cradle Robber, Yasha, Mig and the others moved on. Tuulu carefully put his arm around [member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]’s shoulders, hoping the act was as welcome as the thoughts in his head.

“No booze, Cass. We can’t have an entire planet of tea tottlers. Not with you around.” He hovered beside her, crushgaunt bumping against her hand once in a while. “Think we should check the warehouses? Supply lines? Or survey the city from the sky?”

The gurlanin finally took Cassie’s hand, careful to disengage the crushgaunt’s lethal gripping mechanism, when a shadow rushed off to the side.

“Wait… over there.”

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Wherever there was surplus, there was a need to take it. Wherever there was a need, the prices rose whole sale times two, ten, thirty, fifty times the price of whatever that could have ever been. The black market was always a great way to make extra off a common need a luxury. And when they desperately needed it to keep from loosing their minds--well, that made it just that much better.

The planet had been robbed blind. The truth was there was some booze on the planet--but it was not available to the public. Nor was it as much as they needed. No, not at all.

Spoiler

Jean Pierre stood hunched over in a back ally behind the New Cradle. His white pencil stripped shirt, his mustache, and his Beretta, were all in perfect form. His legs were bent down in a bird-like crouch, making the black scarf that dangled from his neck brush against the ground. His bony white hands kept rubbing over each other in laps. His papery skin brushed against each other in a ridiculously loud symphony.

One of the desperate locals sulked into the ally, meeting him with a desperate look in their eye. "Y-you got the goods?"

"Oiu, oiu, oiu," Jean said, one of his hands went to his moustache, giving it a twirl between his fingers, "Oiu, we have the goods, oiu? We can do business, oiu?"

The man's mouth opened in confusion before clamping shut again. He furrowed his brows, "Look man, you got any booze or not?"

"Oiu, oiu, we have fine chardonnay, or perhaps you would prefer a great champagne, oiu?"

"Look man," the guy said, reaching the max of his frustration with this small minded fool, "I just want some scotch, I don't care what it takes. Give it to me already!"

Oiu, oiu," Jean said with a sense of scoff, "If you want to drink swill we have that too. A bottle how shall we say, uuuuh, 2-70?"

"Two hundred and seventy!" the man screeched as he reached in his pocket, "That's robbery!"

But good ol' JP didn't care. He took his credits and they quickly vanished in his pockets. The man scurried over to a pile of cans and pulled a bottle out of one hidden under a pile of potato chips bags, a used diaper, and rags. He offered a bottle of the scotch. The unsatisfied customer stormed off with his wares. He tucked it inside his shirt before scurrying across the street suspiciously. Meanwhile Jean pulled a fresh baguette out of a brown paper bag and began munching on it as he waited for his next customer. In the other hand he grabbed a snail off one of the garbage cans and slurped the goodness out of its coiled shell.

"MmmmMMMmmmm hon hon hon HOOOON MoooOOOOoon Deeeeeiiiuuuu Bon Appetite!" he wailed in delight.

[member="Yasha Cadera"] I [member="Adenn Kyramud"] I [member="Mig Gred"]