Private Industry Secrets

[Corazona von Ascania]

Kaal
Moonside Resort​

Nestled between the borders of two galactic powers was the picturesque, tropical planet of Kaal.

Always wary of potential trouble on their margins, the Alliance had gotten wind of shady dealings on the resort world. Low-level crime was given on most planets, even those with the most polished of images - but something darker was lurking beneath the immaculate surface of Kaal.

The rumors were strong enough to warrant a Jedi Knight's investigation. Not as a robe-wearing monk, and sadly, not even posing as a vacationing guest.

"That's one Red Dwarf, one Tatooine Sunrise, and uhh…"

Corazona had imagined that pretending to be a wealthy patron, given her upbringing and adjoining mannerisms, would have been easier than pretending to be a server.

How hard could serving drinks be, really? As it turned out, far harder than she'd imagined - the orders were complicated, arrived too quickly for her to keep up with, and the some of the customers were…difficult.

Cora balanced the tray on her shoulder, placing a glass of spiced orange liquid in front a lavishly dressed middle aged man. This section of the resort only catered to the most affluent of individuals, and the three men she was serving were thought to have ties to Kaal's seedy underbelly.

All seemed well until the gentleman suddenly spit out his drink.

"Wha- this isn't a Sonic Serodriver!"

"Oh-" Cora blanched "I must've - I might have put your order in wrong. I apologize, allow me bring you-"

Before she could finish, the disgruntled patron tossed the remainder of his drink her way, which she managed to sidestep the most of. A few streaks of orange still landed on the crisp white collar of her uniform.

The trio didn't bother to hold back their snickering, and her lower eyelid twitched just once.

"Bring me a Sonic Serodriver. A Sonic Serodriver, I'll say it slow for you - understand, girl?"

"Yes, Sir." Cora ground through the tightest smile she'd ever worn, quietly restraining her urge beat him with the plastoid serving tray. "One Sonic Serodriver."

She stiffly made her way back to the bar.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Kaal was...

Kaal was many things.

A Rakatan colony if old histories were to be believed, a minor world ruled by the Brotherhood of Darkness centuries after that, part of the old Galactic Republic, part of Darth Sidious' Galactic Empire.

It seemed every new millennium, Kaal would find itself ruled by a new master.

This millennium was proving to be no different, as it found itself at the precipice of conflict between the Jedi of the Galactic Alliance, and the Sith of the Sith Empire, as the opening salvo of a new great war rippled across the galaxy, so did both sides look for advantage, in any way they could manage.

And as all knew in the art of war, before one sent the cavalry.

They sent out the scouts.

Malum found himself at the command of quite a bit more than simply scouts, he was in command of spies, informants, and assassins, across the empire, and beyond to the wider galaxy, it meant in this opening stage of this grand drama with the galaxy acting as stage, he would play a critical role.

Perhaps that was why, he now found himself standing behind the counter, exuding an aura that was most unlike his, blue eyes glaring down as he wiped down a sticky and alcoholic surface with a wettened rag, an activity decidedly above him, but there was much above him, and he would so endure silently and without complaint.

At least without vocal complaint.

There had certainly been a sort of complaining ever since he had begun his... 'shift', the fact that said... 'shift', had only begun a mere few minutes ago was far from his mind, as already it felt like he had spent far too much time here.

Yet, as ever, the things he did for the empire.

Still, he supposed, even after he had to personally investigate this world, as the Tsis'Kaar found themselves still in recovery after the long-ago Ouroboros Crisis, of all the places which its Lord had to visit, this was perhaps the best conditioned to accept his arrival. Of all the allegiances which Kaal had held, none of them truly described what Kaal was.

Really... its tropical climate, its archipelagos structure, its deep blue oceans, he had been to many Kaals in his life. And even though he was not much a fan of the heat, nor the water, he was much more at home in the cool depths of a building's interior, nursing a book rather than a drink, or at the very least a drink that was more of a... dark colour, rather than the opposite, he could appreciate them rarely.

Of course, Kaal was unique in the fact that for all those which he had seen in his life, Kaal might have held all of them within its atmosphere, for what was unique about Kaal, was that it was a planet entirely of such environs.

A pleasure den of hedonism if he had ever seen one, though he supposed a particular type of pleasure den, in reality, he had not seen such libertine establishments in his time here, even if for his role they would have been rather useful, alas, it would his his agents which would infiltrate such places, while he himself...

...He was here.

Serving drinks to those who considered themselves superior simply because of the amount of credits within their accounts.

And that in this role he had assumed, it would make him need to act subordinate to them, when in reality nothing could be further from the case.

He let out a sigh, as the chatter of the bar continued to fill his ears, that oh-so-familiar, yet entirely distinct sound of tens of voices all speaking at once such that you could not deny it was all conversation, but the exact words which were uttered were entirely lost on you.

"Sounds like someone wants a Sonic Serodriver," His... temporary manager's voice was able to break through the simultaneous everything and nothing, Malum quirking an eyebrow at the order, but saying nothing more, as he began to grab glasses and the necessary drinks.

He would not claim to be any good at the role.

But he was serviceable enough... perhaps.

He had after all watched many bartenders in his life do activities similar.

He had drank a lot in his relatively short life.

Oh sure, he had broken several glasses...

...And several bottles...

...And did have to mind trick his erstwhile superior into forgetting tha- those incidents.

He was not that bad.

Thus he brought out the ice, mixed, and shook, and at the end, there was a drink that was serviceable, or more broadly put, he would certainly drink it without any complaints.

Ringing the bell, and gazing up, a glimmer of a smile on his face, as he knew he had completed the order before the ticket was even required.

"One Sonic Serodrive-"

He saw blue eyes.

And the smile fell off his face.

His own blue narrowed.

Corazona von Ascania

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Fortunately, a busboy was quick to approach the spill with a rag and cleaner. Cora gave him an appreciative, apologetic glance as she made her way back towards the bar.

Double fortunately, the bartender seemed to be quicker on his feet. No sooner had she approached the counter did he have the Sonic Serodriver ready. Cora smiled in thanks, a preemptive expression as she slipped her hand around the glass. Shift change had only been a few minutes ago, but there was something strikingly familiar about the pair of blue eyes that stared back at her own.

Their pleasant expressions fell in perfect unison.

Intense. There was something so intense in the bartender's demeanor, and it took Cora a few moments longer to piece the man together. Blue eyes and a tinge of the Light in his aura – when she'd assaulted him with Force Light on Jedha, had it truly had such a lingering impact?

Probably not, especially for a Sith Lord that ranked so highly in his Order. Something else was afoot here. Something that sent a surge of unrepentant anger through her.

Cr-crack!

The glass fractured in Cora's hand, slicing into her palm. She kept her eyes locked on Malum, her lips moving cold and slow.

"Why are you here?"

Her grip was still clamped tightly around the glass as it leaked. She ignored the sting of mixed fruit juice and alcohol on the laceration of her hand.

Darth Malum of House Marr