Just One Big Junkyard

[Vaak Lest]

Vaak Lest's YT-2400 Starship, Legacy broke the atmosphere of the old, dusty world of Ord Mantell. Immedeatly, he flew toward Worlport, the planet's capital city, and landed his vessel in a public docking port reserved for him.

The exit ramp dropped and the tall, bulky keldor stepped off to meet a twilek man dressed like he had just gotten out of a formal party, smoking a death stick. "Mister Lest", the man greeted, "I see your size is not exaggerated." The twilek was small in comparison to the keldor spacer, dressed in a simple brownish-red jacket hanging down past his belt, which was worn over the jacket on purpose so that Vaak could brandish his personal wookie-manufactured blaster pistol, Rage.

Vaak grunted, "I got your death sticks.", waving a hand over at the top of the exit ramp, where a crate hovered on top of a metal carrier guided by a small pit droid behind it. The little droid was only about as tall as Vaak's knees, but that was saying a lot since he was so tall. The droid's brown paint looked worn, but it worked just fine guiding the crate down to the twilek man, who took a puff of his own as he opened it. A grin spread across his face when his eyes feasted upon the addictive life choice.

"Niiiiice...where did you get them?" The man asked Vaak.

Vaak replied simply. "Bought in bulk from a merchant on Onderon."

The twilek ran a hand over the crate and then examined a particular stick, looking closely at a small logo on the paper. "It is definitely a Republic shipment...very good..." the twilek reached into his coat and whipped out a hefty handful of credits, placing them into the gargantuan hand of Vaak. He tried to be cool and winked up at Vaak, "Don't spend them all in one place!"

Vaak grunted, handing him back a few, "For the dock. I'm staying the night."

The twilek puffed a cloud of smoke from his death stick, "Good choice..."

~~~

After getting settled down and making sure his ship is locked up, Vaak headed to the local cantina. It was a slow night. The jukebox was not playing, only a couple of seemingly-average people sat around conversing at tables, and only a single bith dressed like a pimp sat near the two scantily-clad twi'lek dancers, of which only one was actually dancing. The other seemed to be taking a break and heading over to the bar after putting a coat on to cover herself.

Vaak took heavy steps over to the bar, granting himself a few intimidated and curious gazes from nearby patrons. One particular selkath businessman eyeballed Vaak's blaster at his side. The heavyweight keldor sat down at the bar and looked at the skinny human woman tending the bar.

"Corellian Ale, please."

[member="Gavin XIII"]
[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen let out a sigh as he walked over the surface of Ord Mantell. It wasn't so much where he was or where he was going, but rather, his company. At first it was interesting, but now it had become somewhat restrictive, knowing that somewhere in the crowd or shadows stood ten men armed with high powered pistols and some rifles with the sole purpose of keeping him safe. Sounds cool, until you realize that it means you're constantly watched.

Deciding to get these problems off his mind, he slipped into a local cantina and headed for the bar. As he entered, there would of course be some focus on his tail and glowing golden eyes among other parts of his strange anatomy. But then, he would hear whispers of people who managed to recognize the leader of the Vitae Alliance. Some good, some bad, and others quite indifferent, though most had more to due with his jedi past so far. Ignoring these easily picked up words, he took a seat at the bar and ordered himself a glass of whiskey.

[member="Vaak Lest"]
[member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Gavin XIII]

Ord Mantell. Pretty much as secure a place for criminals as anywhere could be. Although ostensibly controlled by the remnants of the Republic military and their contractors, the planet was in reality the perfect place for anybody who wanted to trade anything illegal. Despite technically being employed by the Republic, Gavin spent most of his off-time in places like these, where he could relax and simply enjoy the fact that he was still alive for now.

Although there were plenty of dancers in this place, the woman tracing the rims of Gavin's shades with her finger was definitely not one of them. She was actually the pilot of the last freighter the blonde Sithspawn had stowed away in. Rather than even attempt to shove him out an airlock or drop a major fine on him, she'd actually invited him to sit in the cockpit with him and chat. If Gavin had been any less paranoid than he was, he probably would have kissed her before they even got off the ship.

As it was, he didn't mind her flirting or the physical contact but he was a little bit sad, knowing that he'd most likely have to leave her alone after a while.

[member='Vaak Lest'] [member='Vulpesen'] [member='Keira Ticon']

 

[Vaak Lest]

Vaak did not drink often. Not because he didn't like the taste of alcoholic beverages, but because to drink anything, he'd have to briefly remove his antiox mask, which meant he had to hold his breath to drink, which was very difficult to pull off. To a keldor, oxygen-rich atmospheres were toxic to them, so they had to wear masks that provided their lungs with the gasses they are able to breathe normally on their homeworld. Some antiox masks had a tube they could use to drink from, but Vaak's mask was...a cheaper, older model.

The skinny bartender placed a small glass of the beverage before the massive alien, who stared at it for a moment before reaching down to take it into his mighty grasp.

But a small, red hand landed on top of his before he could. Turning his head, he locked eyes with the same twi'lek dancer whom appeared to be on her break, glancing down at his drink as she gave his hand a squeeze. "Hey, handsome..." she said

Handsome. This woman must be drunk.

"Whatever it is", Vaak said, "No. Leave me to my drink and find someone else to bother."

The woman frowned, standing up and wandering off. Vaak felt that she probably didn't have any money on her, so couldn't afford a drink and figured she could woo a man enough to get him to buy her one. Or two, depending on how raunchy she was with her persuasion.

Vaak turned back to his drink, slowly removing his oxidation mask. Holding his breath, he lifted the glass to his mouth and drank half of the glass in one go before placing his mask back on. Keldor's weren't the most attractive-looking race without their masks on, so a few disgusted gazes might land upon him as he drank.

It was at this moment Vaak noticed an increase of heads in the cantina. Is it happy hour? He didn't turn to look at the new faces, but scanned the cantina briefly.

Nice to find a good, quiet bar to sit at for once...

[member="Gavin XIII"]
[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Keira Priest]

After defecting from The Primeval at the invasion of Ziost, Keira's life had been oddly quiet. Typically her time had been occupied on this or that battlefield, or in other, equally violent scenarios, doing her best not to die. The amount of scars scattered about her body were testament to that, some visible while others were concealed beneath this or that article of clothing. Violence had been an important pinnacle in her life for five years or more, guiding her to the dark and back again seemingly without a second thought. It was strange for her to be at ease in times of peace, even if this was likely a fleeting moment. A part of her half-expected things to phase back into this or that fight, all of this manifesting as some sort of strange daydream. However, despite all of her doubts, it was real. For once, she was allowed a chance at peace.

Ord Mantell was a planet she had likely wound up on once or twice in the past for this or that reason, but she couldn't quite recall when that had been. Regardless, she had returned now, this time seeking out her own sort of relaxation, which would inevitably include another violent encounter or two before the day was done. Never was she able to escape a scuffle, a clash of that sort seeming to always worm its way into her life. Especially when she chose a bar of all places, and one she hadn't heard of no less, as a place to rest her feet for a time. It wouldn't be her first venture into such an establishment, but it was the first time in a long time she had ever been in one for entirely innocent purposes. It seemed as if she was reverting back to square one, when she had been nothing more than another member of the criminal underworld belonging to the Red Ravens.

Upon entering the cantina she reached out through the Force, immediately searching for any familiar presences while allowing her own to be visible to those that could sense it. Only one drew her attention, mottled with both light and dark as hers was, though she paid it no further mind than that one silent acknowledgement. Breathing a sigh through her nose she stepped up to the bar, sitting down and paying no attention to those who may have been seated nearby. Ordering a Corellian Whiskey she glanced over those nearby, her eyes now a sharp blue instead of the amber they had been possessed of in the years previous. No one immediately caught her eye, and that was all the better. This was meant to be nothing more than a quiet stop, allowing her time to find herself in some sense. It had been too long since she was allotted time to herself.

When her drink was delivered she took a sip, savoring the burn of the alcohol, her first drink in a long time. Been awhile.

[member="Vaak Lest"], [member="Gavin XIII"], [member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Leaning back, Vulpesen smiled at the taste of the whiskey in his hand, likely Correlian itself due to how common and popular the drink was. Unlike others in the room, it had become quite a practice for him, but considering how much it took for him to even become tipsy, he had the luxury of treating such drinks more like soda than other species.

As he enjoyed the burn of the drink, he felt a presence lightly touch upon his own, similar though one he had never met before. He shrugged it off and decided to do the same, letting his presence float out. Most around him were fairly non-important. He easily found that of the girl that had found him, as well as one strange presence, certainly tainted by the sith and their dark powers, but seeming to not let it control them. Never know who you'd run into in these places.

"Oi, bartender, anything interesting happening on this planet? Anything that's not run of the mill for y'all?" There was no reason in sitting around on some random planet if you couldn't find a bit of fun. And what better place to look around than you're local tavern? A place where wretched scum and villainy could talk about their deeds and plans for other ears to hear and other mouths to speak of.

[member="Keira Ticon"]
[member="Vaak Lest"]
[member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Vaak Lest]

The bartender looked to the man and giggled softly, "Not run of the mill? Not really...but there was a shootout a few days ago. Some punk bounty hunter thought he was justified to start shooting his blaster at the man he was after as he was having a drink. Got nasty. Lots of blood." She wiped the bar down with a rag, almost knocking Vaak's drink over while she dozed off in thoght. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry!"

Vaak waved his hand, "No harm done, miss. Fine drink, by the way. How often do you clean the taps?"

The bartender smiled, "Every night!"

[member="Vulpesen"]
[member="Keira Ticon"]
[member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Gavin XIII]

Gavin looked around at the man he'd heard calling out to the bartender. Without even looking at his face, it was pretty obvious that the guy was a Zorren. How many fox-tailed species could there honestly be, or rather fox-people without crazy ears and multitudes of fur could there be? A man who was only slightly shorter than the blonde himself was pretty obviously a Kel'dor, from the shape of his head and the breath mask.

The Sithspawn felt somebody else's presence poking at his mind, but he didn't care much. Anybody who wanted him could get off their asses and find him, as far as he was concerned. Not the other way around, and especially not when he was only halfway through his pint of beer. Beer was a very important part of not giving a damn about being a notorious merc-killing monster of destruction. The other important part was having somebody always pointing their gun at your back.

Like the bastard who had his gun pointed at Gavin's back right now. The pilot girl stood up, but immediately took a shot to the head. There would be time to feel sad about that in a moment. Gavin himself swung around on the barstool, kicking it into his assailant's head before gripping the man's throat with his cybernetic arm and slowly crushing it as he drank the rest of his beer. As the merc tried to free himself, he stabbed Gavin in the neck. A fatal blow... To somebody who wasn't a Gen'dai. As it was, it hurt like hell. The man went flying across the room and landed with a nasty crack.

"You fucking trash killed some random girl to get at me. I hope you're hurting. Bad."

[member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Vaak Lest]

Upon hearing the sound of a blaster behind him, Vaak turned around and stood up in time to see the red-coated man completely humiliate and demolish the man who shot the girl beside him dead. So much for a quiet bar. He immediately pushed his way past a few patrons and examined the girl, seeing that she was obviously dead from being shot directly through the brain. Vaak sighed, patting the body sympathetically and turning to the murderer, whom lay at the other end of the cantina, looking as if he were not moving.

As he walked, he drew Rage from the holster on his hip and drew back the action on the side, making sure it was loaded to be sure the murderer was dead. Vaak aimed his blaster at the downed murderer, putting two more green blaster bolts directly into his chest.

He deserves the death sentence anyway.

Holstering his blaster, Vaak looked around at some of the eyes watching him and the red-coated man. He waved them off and approached the stranger whom had brought trouble to this cantina on Ord Mantell. As the kel'dor approached him, he was extremely surprised to see that he was a tad bit taller than himself, who was already very tall and bulky himself.

"Wanted man?" Vaak asked, muscly arms crossed over his chest.

[member="Gavin XIII"]
[member="Vulpesen"]
[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen's senses flared as he felt the gunman's intentions come to light, though the actions were far too sudden for him to save the girl. Then, within a moment everything went to hell. Several guns flew up, but Vulpesen stopped just short of shooting the man when the gunman was already dead. "Well, seems you're a popular man."

 

[Gavin XIII]

"Yeah, don't I know it... Poor girl."​

​

Gavin felt his cybernetic arm go up to rub his brow. These headaches were becoming more frequent as the time until the death of this body ticked down. Three, maybe four months was all the Sithspawn had left. And it wasn't like he was willing to stay on Tatooine and just wait until he died and let his father's probes find and fix him. Hell no. But then, there were sometimes days like this, when he wished that he'd just gone off and disappeared. He let his forehead hit the bar counter, and sighed as he ordered another beer.​

​

"There's probably more of them around, too... I'm not drunk enough for this crap yet."​

​

[member="Vulpesen"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Keira Ticon"]​

 

[Vaak Lest]

Vaak gave the man a confused look. "If you have bounty hunters after you, I would advise you not get drunk." Vaak knew deep down he himself was somewhat a bounty hunter. However, he didnt know this man, not why he was wanted. He felt sympathy for him and how he just lost a friend of his to a sucker punch.

Vaak sighed, not stopping the man. He approached the counter and sat down next to the man. After pausing a moment, his suspicions grew. "...What did you do wanted for that men are willing to murder your friends in cold blood just to get to you?"

[member="Gavin XIII"]
[member="Vulpesen"]
[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"I've got to agree with gas mask over there. Though, I'm fairly certain that if more people were coming to kill you, they'd have rushed in by now." He took a sip f his drink and leaned forward to hear [member="Gavin XIII"]'s reply, whether it be an explanation or a dodge of the question. In any case, it would be interesting to find out why this day of relaxation had ended with a young woman being dragged out as a corpse.

[member="Vaak Lest"]