Private Helluva Trip

[Talsin Lota]

He didn't seem overly bothered by her taking of his piece. And the reason for that soon became clear, because while Tansu had been concerned about him positioning his tower to threaten her houjix, he obfuscated his orange piece from detection.

He moved it without comment and cut off several of her paths to victory at once.

"Oh yeah, very illegal. It's a party drug. Not quite Deathsticks but it's up there." He said after a moment but then smiled up at her.

"Would I? That sounds like something I would say. So much confidence."

Teasing her lightly as he waited for her next move.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"You would." She asserted, and looked unhappily at the board and the shift in dynamics. Her head still throbbed from the residual echo of the initial force bellow that had nearly collapsed the tunnel around them and having to rethink her strategy almost physically hurt.

"It ain't sound like you," she protested. "- I'm not talkin' 'bout my looks or my money. Just statin' facts 'bout an unavoidable outcome."

Revealing the big orange fella certainly frustrated many of her trajectory options. It forced her hand a few ways, but she played outside of it. Keeping her first row active and setting another pawn into attack position.

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

"Mm, I don't know, Tansu. If I were to say- oh, I am definitely going to win in a race against you." He countered as he surveyed her next move and finally smiled. Placing his next piece into place. It looked innocent enough... but oh, so much potential.

"I am pretty sure you'd be pissed enough you'd try to tear my lungs out through my throat."

There was little bite behind his words however. In truth he found it nice to chat with her. There was nothing behind her words and that wasn't a bad thing at all. No hidden meanings, no vipers waiting in the grass. No risk of saying something wrong and then several weeks later finding out that you completely embarrassed yourself in front of the whole Ton without realizing it.

It was just... a conversation.

Very refreshing.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

There was something irritating about the way he thought he knew how she worked. Her brows sloped in and she frowned.

"Wrong."

Tansu used her turn not to move or attack, but to increase the health of a piece in the line of threat — to both improve its ability to withstand attack and dole out more damage when the time came.

"I'd just prove you a liar. We'd get on some bikes, easy, and settle it."

Her hand hovered, thinking, then floated back to her. Her move complete.

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

"Well, once I get a new bike and properly tune it... I will take you up on your challenge." He said with a smirk as he pushed his yellow piece to the left. Again... it looked innocent. The reason for it wasn't clear and there didn't seem to be any particular attack vector obvious.

If Tansu didn't know any better Talsin was just doing something.

Did he even know how to play chess?

"So, what else were you up to on the farm?"

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Even the characters on the board looked befuddled. Their ugly faces contorted into silent roars and they stomped in place.

"Ask me a different question," she sighed. "Somethin' like why I'm here so I can tell you why I'm on Coruscant, the biggest city, only city I've ever been to. All so I can get involved in this next fight takin' down the Sith."

Her scrimp crawled forward three squares, eyes set on his red piece near the back.

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

Out of nowhere he grabbed his purple piece that had been hanging around the back... and suddenly swept it all the way over to her side of the desk.

Using the previous pieces to keep the attention on the front of the battleground so he could move around the pieces at the back to set himself up with a clear path forward.

"Oh? Well, why did you decide to go to Coruscant?" Deadpan there as if she hadn't just answered him. In truth Talsin didn't really care about why she came to Coruscant. Why did anyone? Because there was more stuff to do here. It seemed like the most obvious of things. But clearly Tansu was as tired talking about the farm as he would have been talking about court life. So instead Tal then followed up with a real question. "Why are you interested in getting involved in the next fight?"

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Uh oh. That was not good.

"Talsin what is that?" She complained, pointing at the huge violet monster way too close to her line of creatures. "Y'little snake."

She leaned forward now and pushed her hair behind her ears to concentrate better, elbows on her knees and cheeks in her palms. She let his question sit unanswered while she took stock of the board's unpleasant layout.

"It's the city where my parents got started during the Stygian Campaign. Lin and I wanna be just like them." She huffed and moved to intercept the purple piece with the one she'd just increased the hit points of.

"Galaxy needs more heroes.

Didn't realize until we got here that like, half the planet slapped bacon on a biscuit and hauled ass to Fondor."

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

"It's the Shadow's Gambit." He says with a smirk and it only deepened when she moved to intercept it. "You start off by clearing a path for your strongest piece and tie up all your pieces at the end of the field."

And then triumphantly he put his green piece right into the vicinity of her houjix.

This would be over in t-minus 3 moves.

"And then you put your least assuming piece in it for the kill." Drawled so smugly as he leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. "Oh yeah? Your parents were Jedi then?" An assumption because if she wanted to be just like them, she wouldn't be training as a Jedi herself, would she? He snorted at her description of Coruscant to Fondor. "Yeah, well... the Alliance isn't exactly what it used to be. I don't think that even five years ago it would have allowed the Dark Empire to fucking carve itself into the core of the nation."

Now they were doing... whatever?

Talsin didn't see any rhyme or reason to their strategy, but perhaps he just wasn't experienced enough for it.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"Ohmygod." She breathed and watched the devastation begin. Her head sunk into her hands and her palms pressed into the side of her face, dragging her hair back.

"That was the longest amount of time you haven't been an nerf herder, and you were just setting up to be an undercover nerf herder." She groaned and covered her eyes. It wasn't over yet. She peeked through her fingers and assessed the ways to mitigate the impending damage.

Tansu was, and would always be, an incredibly sore loser.

Her snake-looking piece moved to intercept and protect her giant armed blue thing.

"No, probably not." Tansu sighed. "My Pa doesn't like current events, so hard to say but yer probably right. I can't believe Tython and Empress Teta are just…" she snapped her fingers "— feels sinister."

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

"Hey, it isn't being an nerf herder, it's a valid tactic!" He countered as he responded casually to her snake-looking piece. At this stage of the game they both knew it was already over. Usually the losing opponent would just give up and give in. Shake of the hand and that was that. But something told Talsin that Tansu was more of a 'fight til the bitter end' type of gal. With a heavy focus on 'bitter', but he wasn't about to say that.

They were finally having a normal conversation.

His jaw tightened slightly at the mention of Teta.

"Yeah." Tal agreed there quietly. "The holy world of the Jedi and a planet with millions of people. I know the Alliance tried to fight, but it really feels like they just... gave up." He shrugged there. "I have no illusions that I alone can do anything, but I figure they can use all the help they can get."

But sometimes it did feel like the Alliance didn't even want them to fight.

Like when they just dropped Coruscant and moved to Fondor. What kind of signal was that? As if the Dark Empire wasn't just a yapping mad dog that had to be put down quickly instead of this... waiting around.

Why did the Alliance not immediately attack them in return?

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"Whatever." She huffed, and focused in on the board. This valid tactic sucked for her. Now that she could see the set up, he was in a position to radially snatch most of her primary defensive line and then go straight for her powerhouse pieces unencumbered. All her options seemed to point to just being a thorn in his side and make the inevitable take as long as possible.

All of her attention was on the board. She didn't noticed his well-cut jaw tighten or mood shift.

"You're gonna have to upgrade that training saber real quick."

She was still debating her next move when suddenly, from out of nowhere (the kitchen), Amos appeared! He mrrrowed happily, sensed Tansu's despair, and made a bee-line for her.

Right through the dejarik board!

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

Hey! And watched as the entire formation fell to pieces and the game reset.

But then Talsin laughed.

"Well, that was a fun game." And extended his hand to her. "Well played."

He wondered if she invited Amos on purpose somehow just to save her hide, but he didn't wanna be an ass about it so he stayed quiet.

"Yeah, I know. My Master is a bit of a hard ass, but I am working as hard as I can. He said it might take me a few more weeks. How about you?"

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Tansu caught Amos right as he leapt into her stomach and immediately peppered his face with kisses.

"My little ace in the hole." She cooed while his furry armpits oozed around her hands.

"Don't have a formal master yet, kinda just followin' Kyric around until we get situated. He's as good a teacher as any. Wouldn't do well in a stuffy classroom, I reckon.

Although, Aunty Auteme 's been talkin' bout 'shippin' me and Lin out to Corellia for Gabriel Pryce " She was still fondling over Amos, leaving Talsin's hand hanging.

"Which could be real cool, Dracken Pryce is a helluva admiral, and anyone in his roots probably gonna get along with what we're tryna get good at.

But in the meantime, I've got my mama's saber. Lin has Pa's." She left out the part that they were stolen from their parents when they ran away. That sounded childish.

One press of her nose to Amos' and she set him down on the sofa, revealing Talsin's extended hand. What a proper thing to do. A handshake at the end of a game.

She looked pointedly at his hand, then at him.

"I'll getcha next time." She promised, and slid her palm into his. Obviously this was just a gesture to show good manners at the conclusion of a game, but it also felt like a mutual agreement of another nature. Like a truce of sorts and a reinforcement to her earlier commitment that nobody here was out to get him.

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

A soft click of his tongue.

"I am jealous, I wish my parents were Jedi that I could inherit a lightsaber from." He says with a sigh. Instead he had to accept inheriting a fortune at some point in the future.

Dreadful positively so.

"Oh yeah? Just as you are gonna get me at racing?" Teasing as he smiled and shook her hand before letting go and flopping back into the couch.

That smile really lit his face up.

"Amos is a cutie. I have never had a pet before."

Tansu Treicolt