My Favourite Cantina on the Citadel [Open]

[thegreatbeyonder]

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Telos IV​

-Citadel Station-​

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Orbiting the temperate world of Telos IV is Citadel Station; a massive orbital structure that hovers tightly in orbit of the world below. Originally designed as part of an effort to restore Telos to a habitable status, the space station now serves as a civilized hub deep in the heart of Wild Space. Here corporations such as Titan Industries and the Arceneau Trade Company thrive where business should be scarce. The station caters to civilian needs, too. There are cantinas, clubs, gardens, and various facilities for recreation and relaxation.

Yet there's also a darkness here... An enigmatic collective of zealots, pirates, and warlords known as The Primeval rules this System. Their presence is seemingly inconsequential but small signs here and there point to a notion that states otherwise. Regardless of the truth, poverty and crime has its grips here too.

Investigative journalist and war reporter, Elissa Veen, has arrived at this very station to uncover a possible connection between the corporations that make their home here and those who rule in the shadows. Having found her way in one of the many, established cantinas residing on the station she sat down in a booth, grabbed a cold drink, and pulled out her datapad.

Truthfully she was here to eavesdrop under a guise of her own invention.

 

[Gavin XIII]

Gavin was here to shoot somebody. That was his job, that was his entertainment, and that was what he was good at doing. The somebody he was to be shooting happened to be some minor official on the station who'd sent mercs after him to collect the 600 million credit bounty on his blonde head. His quiet preparations in the booth of this lovely bar mostly involved consuming lots of sugar and cleaning out his gun. They were interrupted when he looked up to see a woman sit down in a booth that was directly in his path.​

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With a sigh, he went back to drinking his fizzy drink, hoping that the woman would move and he'd end up having a clear shot at his target.​

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[member="Elissa Veen"]​

 

[Alicia Drey]

Alicia Drey wasn't sure that any faction in the galaxy- let alone any individual- could muster up six hundred million, just to see a man shot dead. However, ignorant to the troubles of the strangers that sat, stood or drank within the cantina she stepped into, Alicia made her way towards the bar to order a Gizer Ale, deciding that she wanted to drink something sweet, with a bitter after taste.

Unknowingly, she had once conquered this world. But that was another story. Truth be told, she hadn't returned to the Telos system to reminiscence about a certain failed dictatorship that was founded by an unruly Graug Sith Lord, that had once shat out a sun in the middle of a battle. No, she was here to enjoy a drink and see if she could find anybody she knew, out here on this side of the galaxy.

She was a wealthy woman, that good around a lot. That was her MMO. Buying the Gizer Ale, she turned on her seat to observe the cantina, folding one leg over the other as her hazel eyes crossed the faces of her fellow drinkers.

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

If Elissa had known a criminal was sitting directly across from her with the intention of murdering someone directly behind her then she'd surely have gotten out of the way for her own good.

Unfortunately she had no premonitions, prophetic abilities, or psychic powers that allowed her to perceive this knowledge. Her cobalt eyes were fixed on the datapad in her hand, lines of information scrolled, her lips moved silently whilst she read the words only in her head. A certain anxiety did cause Elissa to shift upward momentarily--head lifting and eyes wandering so that they might be aware of her surroundings. There were at least two dozen people of a multitude of species within the cantina itself, and the bustling of denizens outside the walls could be heard faintly as well.

Of those she spotted two were ones she made note of. [member="Alicia Drey"] was a curious woman indeed. She looked to be confident, stood taller than Elissa, and seemed to be fit to boot as well; probably older too, but not by much. Then there was [member="Gavin XIII"] directly in front of her, something about him made her feel uneasy. He had a look of trouble on his face, seemed to be impatient about something but she wasn't sure what. Perhaps if she had decided to look behind her she could've connected the dots.

With the mental notes made she went back to her datapad, leaving her ears open to what's around her.

 

[Eclipse]

It should've been obvious that stealing death sticks was not appreciated, and if attempted the victim should not be alarmed at all. Unfortunately for Eclispe, her pickpocketing skills were not great and she was now being followed. It also didn't help her chances that those who were following her were at least three times her size and made of solid muscle.

The only option now was to run. Run very fast.

Herds of people allowed the fleeing girl to blend in and remain a distance away from those tracking her, but also inhibited her movement speed. Eclispe had a hard time fighting through the crowd, unlike her followers who were easily pushing their ways through and quickly closing the gap. Breaking out of the gathering of people to one side, the lone girl began a mad sprint in the opposite direction to the men hunting her. She had to get off the street. Luckily for her, up ahead was a cantina. With one foot she slipped inside the dimly lit room. The smell of alcoholic beverages hit her soon after.

She rushed to the bar counter and sat on one of the empty stools, "Gimme whatever's cheap... And make it quick." She spoke to the man behind the bar before pulling her hood over her head and concealing her face in a shadow. Only moments later the doors to cantina burst open and the men who had been hunting Eclipse moments earlier entered. "She ain't 'ere. Looks like we lost 'er!" One shouted to other after a quick scan of the room, after this they both left the cantina. They continued to argue as they left. This was close call for Eclispe, if there a closer inspection and she would've been in trouble.

[member="Elissa Veen"] | [member="Alicia Drey"] | [member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Jonathon Patches]

Patches had no concievable reason for being here; at least, that's what he would have others believe. Of course he had his reasons. However they were his, and his alone, and wouldn't be tipping his hand any time soon. Of course, that was the plan... and unfortunately in Patches experience, that meant sithspit, as things never seemed to work out according to plan.

Perhaps it was the methodical, repetitious cleaning of the gun, or the large amounts of sugar the man was consuming, but Patches knew his plans this evening were about to take a side ways turn. Of course, Patches was nothing if not a good improviser. He made his way to the bar, as if to order a drink, positioning himself nowhere near the line of fire between the hunter and the hunted - he wasn't an idiot after all - an ordered a Corellian Ale, giving a feint nod and smile to [member="Alicia Drey"] , though his peripheral vision fixated elsewhere.

No sooner was the drink served, that a woman entered short of breath, desperate to quench her own thirst. A little too desperate, he mused, but we'll come back to that one.

There was of course, a murder about to take place if Patches didn't do something. After all, there wasn't a bounty placed that Patches didn't know about. The question was, did he have any vested interest in either party.


[member="Elissa Veen"] [member="Gavin XIII"] [member="Eclipse"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Elissa Veen"] | [member="Eclipse"] | [member="Jonathon Patches"] | [member="Gavin XIII"] |

The Gizer Ale tasted like candy, leaving a luminescence green on her pearly, white teeth. As she licked away the green, so as to clean her teeth, the bitter aftertaste came and thus Alicia began to enjoy the sensations of sweet, then sour and all blended together in an buzz created by alcohol, giving her a light headed feeling.

As Jonathon moved to the bar, she gave him a wink as he nodded to her. Straw in hand, Alicia continued to sip in her Gizer Ale through it, so that her lip stick wouldn't be smudged. She didn't notice Eclipse, nor the men that had chased her, due to the crowds.

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

And so another stranger decided to attend the cantina, this time Elissa's wandering eyes noticed his attention was directed towards the woman drinking the ale. As for the others in the room, it was as if they did not exist at all momentarily. Perhaps they knew each other? She wondered.

With a sudden curiosity she could picture the two having first met during a routine milk run gone wrong before the two became associates on odd jobs. Or maybe they were just childhood friends, business partners, or even husband and wife... No they couldn't married, he didn't give her the look as someone who was in love.

Alas her attention was brief as was her appreciation for the drink she herself had. The bitter liquor was the house beverage of this particular establishment, she missed the brews of Corellia which she had become fond of during her teenage years. With the destruction of her homeworld still on her mind, she couldn't help but stare blankly whilst her thoughts and memories took hold of her; the hand that held the datapad quivered for the duration she was spaced out.

[member="Alicia Drey"] | [member="Jonathon Patches"] | [member="Gavin XIII"] | [member="Eclipse"]

 

[Eclipse]

After a short wait the drink she ordered arrived. Eclipse didn't know what it was, like many other drinks it was a brown watery substance. As long as it was bitter and would allow her to forget about this horrendous day, it would do. After the first sip, she noted that the liquid was in fact bitter and cheap. This wasn't a surprise, it was as if she expected top quality beverages in the cantina like this. Her throat rejected the burning substance at first causing Jade to force it down her throat. At least it was cheap.

It wasn't all bad however. Well. It could've been worse. Especially if those men had caught her. She also got her hands on some death sticks, which were now concealed in her side pocket. For a brief moment she removed one of the small tubes from the deep pocket to inspect what she got her hands on. Nothing to special but it should be enough to pay for her tab, which would only grow as the night when on. She dropped the coloured stick back into her pocket and downed the last of her glass of bile.

"Hit us up with another!" She shouted to the barkeep who was tending to another patron. The though of forcing another glass full of the brown sewer water made her gag and knowing it was all she could afford made her depressed. Eclipse needed work.

[member="Elissa Veen"] | [member="Alicia Drey"] | [member="Jonathon Patches"] | [member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Zola]

Darth Zola was nearly an expert on known galactic cults. Ever since the Primeval got a choke hold over her soul, which due to various emotional problems, had always been arguably up for grabs, she extensively studied the history of every cult from the Believers to the Order of the Terrible Glare. Although they had different beliefs and practices, they all had one thing in common: the assurance that galactic history was culminating, preparing itself for a second coming and a dark culling.

Like the ancient cults, Zola herself believed that all sentient life was on the cusp of a reckoning. The proof in the pudding: the strife that currently plagued the galaxy. Sith versus Jedi, Primeval versus Jedi, Mandalorians versus the Republic. Rebellions ignited overnight. The Great Disappearance. The opening of rifts to the Netherworld. Aggression and despair ruled the galaxy, and Zola believed she knew why. The Elder Gods were soon returning.

Spoiler

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Wearing civilian clothing--a sleek, black zeyd-cloth skirt, her long hair under a wooly hat--Darth Zola entered the cantina in Citadel Station on Telos IV. It was an unassuming enough place for her needs, with a modicum of security, but not fortress-level. She gave a perfunctory look around the room, hoping to find someone who had three qualities: intelligence, curiosity, and a touch of naivete. The best followers were those with fresh ideals. Their passion was usually unwavering. It was their cause that needed usurping.

Sargon would need followers for his army, the people who would set the galaxy back on its axis again. Zola would find one of them here, today, in this cantina. She could feel it in the Force. And like Sargon himself, the Force was never wrong.

[member="Eclipse"] [member="Elissa Veen"] [member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Gavin XIII"] [member="Jonathon Patches"]

 

[Jonathon Patches]

Patches was usually one to take a wait and see approach, rather than get in the middle of someone else's quarrel. Still though, he did enjoy a good show every now and then, and he wasn't quite certain if the station official still could prove useful. The mood of the establishment was somewhat cheery, if a bit quiet. The murder of another individual did to dampen patrons spirits... sometimes, he mused to himself.

For now, Patches would take a wait and see approach. However, if things didn't pick up soon, he might just have to intervene, if for no other reason than to make the evening a bit more exciting.

Still, Patches found himself in no rush at the moment. Another sip of his ale brought a cool, calming sensation that tickled his taste buds. He turned his attention to the woman whom winked at him, [member="Alicia Drey"] , and gave her a feint smile with a formal "Ma'am."

Ma'am? Patches questioned to himself. Does this look like the kind of joint that uses Ma'am? If Patches could shake his moment in this instance, he would. However, that would have taken his peripheral vision off the man whom seemed oh to willing to clean and shine his own gun, or any of the other eight threats he counted in the bar thus far.

Make that nine, he mused to himself, as a woman whom had clearly consumed too much spilled her drink on the floor. Tripping hazard of course.

[member="Darth Zola"] [member="Elissa Veen"] [member="Eclipse"] [member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

The curious Corellian couldn't keep her calm if her life depended on it.

She was in a strange place, on a strange station, above an equally strange world. To say that she wasn't frightened at all would be a lie, she didn't even know who was behind everything but she knew enough to gather that most of these people were dangerous. Elissa was here to eavesdrop, to get a story to accelerate her career so she might follow her passions; a big break, if you would. Yet that break did not involve so many wild cards, the potential psychopath or brainless bounty hunter, to name a few stereotypes.

Droplets of sweat began to form along her brow, slowly they dribbled down the side of her face and wrapped around towards her chin before falling onto the screen of her datapad. Now that she noticed she was sweating, that caused her heart to beat more quickly. Within the confines of her unprotected mind she rapidly began to consider the possibility that someone saw her sweat and thus grew suspicious of her presence.

The truth mattered not, her fears became reality and her reality controlled her. Everything she thought became a weapon her enemies could use against her, and knowing this only made her fears stronger. Taking a deep breath, she tried to shake the thoughts and focus on some pleasant things.

Baby kath hounds, baby kath hounds, baby kath hounds!

[member="Darth Zola"]

 

[Zola]

There was a woman in the cantina that flipped a switch of recognition for the cultist. Zola had forgotten her name, but she was sitting near someone who looked strikingly like a war reporter she had noticed on HNN. The young reporter's face was dripping with sweat. She was clearly uncomfortable here in the cantina, which made her vulnerable. The wheels turned, inexorably sealing the fate of the young journalist. She lifted her Datapad out of her satchel, surreptitiously took a Holopic of the woman and ran a search on her face. Once she got a name, Zola stood, straightened out her skirt and walked over to the woman.

She sat down across from the reporter and leaned in conspiratorially. "You're Elissa Veen aren't you?" she asked, but did not wait for an answer.

"I'm an expert on cultists and I was wondering if you would like to help me expose a very nasty Death cult that's been operating out of this area. I'm a former member, and I want to make sure that others like me do not suffer the same fate."

[member="Elissa Veen"]

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

Elissa jumped in her seat when suddenly a woman spoke her name. Her blue eyes stared directly across, "I--," she looked around to see if anyone else had taken a notice. She wanted to know how this woman knew about her, certainly Elissa has appeared on the HoloNet many times when conducting live broadcasts, but she wasn't a big name. Then she could only wonder how many others might know who she was but even those thoughts were replaced.

It was shocking to have someone be so forward, especially about something like a Death cult that seemed to sound awfully like those she was investigating.

"You are very blunt about these things... Gave me a scare," she said with a faux smile and nervous chuckle. A hand went up to push a few locks of hair behind her ear, "what do you know?" Finally she'd allow her curiosity to take control of the situation. Parts of her were in doubt but at the same time it distracted her from the other dangers around them.

[member="Darth Zola"]