Getting Old (Enigma)

[Asemir]

The pungent odor of unwashed bodies and cigarette smoke greeted him as he stepped out of the driving rain and into the dimly lit tavern. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the lower level of lighting and the amount of smoke in the room, but Asemir had learned long ago to rely on his other senses. But, then again, with all the foul smelling odors emanating from the various patrons, and the constant murmur of muttered conversations, his other senses were not quite as useful as he would have liked.

Pulling his tattered cloak tighter around himself, Asemir weaved his way around the cluttered tables and the occasional waitress, and towards the bar. He plopped himself down on a stool, next to a rather large man and his drinking partner, and waved the barkeeper over.

"What can I getcha?" the barkeep asked as he dried an empty glass. Without looking up, the weary traveler could tell from the way the man moved and spoke that he was an older individual, with a slight limp.

"Something to dull my mind," Asemir replied softly, without ever looking up. Normally, he wouldn't partake in alcohol; he hated to have his mind dull or his senses not at their prime. But, with how his days had been going, he felt he deserved something special.

A few seconds later, the bartender handed him a glass of some foul-smelling liquid. Asemir looked at the drink and briefly wondered how he would even pay for it, for he carried no money. After a brief moment's consideration, he shrugged, figuring that at worst, he could fight his way out of the bar. More likely, though, he'd simply mind-twist his way free, using his gifts as a Forgotten.

The Lost Child downed the drink in one gulp, his stomach lurching from the searing liquid and his throat raw from its passage. He coughed several times and blinked at the intensity, forcing his body to accommodate the foreign liquid. After a few minutes of making sure that he wouldn't end up heaving his stomach contents onto the floor, he waved for another.

The alcohol burned in his stomach, but it was a good distraction to his rumination. It was rather stupid, he realized, to have fethed up that hunt. A simple miscalculation had ended up with a whole group of dead people. The Forgotten rubbed the bridge of his nose. Miscalculation. How embarrassing.

I'm getting old, he thought.

The embarrassment gave way to irritation as he realized that if Mirae would simply contact him, get her act together, he could be off of this infernal planet. They could get that Hutt together and... then what? He wasn't sure.

Sighing, Asemir took another sip of his drink.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

"You look in poor straights." A woman with dark hair and surprisingly piercing eyes moved to sit next to him at the bar. She had noticed his depressed state, not even appearing to have a credit to pay for whatever drink the barkeep had given him. "Mind if I pay for your drink? Least I can do." A smile crossed her lips as she eyed the man over - he was a Force user, that much she could tell, but she wasn't able to tell who he was or what allegiances he had, past, present, or future.

But she would. Hopefully.

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

Asemir looked up, suspicion flooding his mind. Why would a woman approach a stranger and offer to buy him a drink? That never happened, not in real life or the holovids. His mind raced to all the faces he had seen in the last twenty minutes, trying to see if he had been followed. All in vain.

He started to consider an exit strategy.

The Forgotten covered his suspicion perfectly, and smiled at the pretty lady. "That's not an offer I can refuse," he said pleasantly. Asemir slid his tumbler over to make room for the lady. "If I may, what gave I done to earn this good fortune?"

[member="Enigma"]

PS Writing a post with a phone sucks. A lot.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

"Well, you look down on your luck. Least I can do is buy you a drink. If I wanted to rob you..." She stopped right there. "Well, it's not as though you really have anything to rob or whatnot. And I'm not that sort of person anyways." Sighing, she turned, considering the circumstances of the situation as they were. "So... Least you can do is tell me a bit about yourself, I suppose. Who're you? What's your story?"

She was genuinely interested, after all.

 

[Asemir]

Should he lie? Should he use one of his many cover identities? He wasn't sure. Was there any point? The Sith were no longer after him. But perhaps it would be prudent to do so regardless? Who was she?

"I'm just a consultant," Asemir replied with a smile. "Well, actually, a bounty hunter, but same thing, right?" He took another sip of his drink, winced, and scooted it aside. "There's not much of a story. I'm just on a hunt now. Well, I was. It didn't go according to plan."

The Forgotten turned towards her. "How about you? What's your story?"

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

"Oh, you know. Little girl lost. Little girl becomes a slave. Little girl kills her master and learns unimaginably pernicious dark arts." She chuckled. "How else does the machine of society keep manufacturing all the loveliest Dark Ladies of the Sith?" Pausing, she considered the one across from her. He seemed pretty standard, so far as she could tell, but he did emanate quite a bit of power. "You're a Force user, aren't you?"

 

[Asemir]

Asemir's mental guards immediately flared and his wariness vanished. A Sith master. Sitting next to him. He would have to be careful. And that also included whatever he might say. There was no telling what this lady would do or whom she worked for. Now he was definitely considering ways to evacuate the premises.

"Yes, I'm a Force user," the Forgotten answered after a small pause. "One of quite a few Force users in this galaxy. Nothing at all like you, though," he offered. "None of that killing-my-master thing. Did my training, learned my arts, and got out.

"Not unlike the service," he added with a tight smile. "So, why would a Dark Lady of the Sith like you hang around in a grungy place like this?" He gestured at the rest of the guests, all of whom were either inebriated or not far from it. "It's not like this place is some high-end establishment on Coruscant."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

"No no... My master as a slave. Not as a teacher. That schutta didn't teach me anything." She sighed, trying hard not to remember how things had been previously. "He was a real nerf herder, and I don't regret shoving that shard of metal through his heart in the slightest. She paused. "So, what's your story? How'd you end up where you are right now?"

 

[Asemir]

Asemir thought about his response for a moment. What should he reveal? He was tired, and that was certainly playing into his (poor) decision making. "It's a long and complicated story. I was assigned to an anti-corruption task force, got deployed on some expeditionary mission, nabbed the corrupt commander, and somehow got put in charge of that whole mission until a proper replacement could be found."

He paused, searching for that familiar stab of regret but found it strangely gone. Then again, it had been some decades since that event. It was in the past. "Then, things went south, important people died, and I escaped into the rest of the galaxy. Joined some Dark Side empires, learned some magic, and helped save the galaxy." He shrugged as if that was part of a regular day. "Nothing special."

Taking another sip of his drink, Asemir continued. "My home offered to take me back, but so much had changed, everyone I had cared about was either dead or gone, so I figured traveling the galaxy was a good choice. Bounty hunting came easily. Plus, having friends in high places didn't hurt." He neglected to mention his friendship with Ashin Varanin, deciding that it'd best to keep that specific fact out of the public light.

"That's my story. I'm Asemir, by the way." He gave the woman a smile. "You haven't mentioned your name yet."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

"I'd prefer not to. The mere mention of my name gathers bounty hunters and mercenaries looking to make a quick buck off of capturing my and delivering my semi-living body to the Mandalorians, the Republic, or the Omega Protectorate. Suffice to say that you may know me by the fact that my company was reduced to rubble by the Confederacy of Independent Systems some time ago." That was all she said as she moved to get a new sip of drink.