ORCtoberfest - Trash Manda ​Edition

[Julius Sedaire]

Zef looked at him, and something tickled at his memory, but nothing concrete or for sure. He brushed it aside, shrugging off and touched the Jedi Credit around his neck for luck. Turning as someone in a makeshift dress approached him, muttering drunkenly. He signaled the bartender, and a bottle of the cheapest house whiskey was slid to him, and he handed it to the possible transvestite. Then he looked at Daro, and a smile lit his eyes as he pulled two bottles from the crate, handing one unopened to the strange-talking slicer. The other he took in hand, bit an spit the cork into a trash can.

Blue grey eyes twinkled dangerously. Anyone who knew him would know that look spelled trouble. Somewhere, a small part of his inner-self remembered a screaming pink twi'lek, and he cackled as he raised the whole bottle and stared Daro down. It was friendly, but challenging all the same.

"To wise fools and foolish wise men, and to the Nine Hells with those who can tell the difference!"

It was an old toast, one his brother had taught him. The exact meaning was lost, but Julius always took it to mean that one should live life as they may, the best that they could. Tipping back the bottle and clinking it to Daro's, he took a long swig, immediately feeling a tingle and rush in his fingers.

Zef Halo | [member="Daro Tarsi"] | [member="Joza Perl"] | [member="Tryp West"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Three years ago" Janick answered [member="Noatyr Moldmerr"]'s question.

It all began when one Kami Meran advertised a prospection opportunity, after re-discovering Asop, she thought, while the whole sequence that led to the Asobi 95% tihaar brought to market was as fresh in Griet's mind as it was in Janick's, although in Janick's mind it also conjured the image of teaching alchemy to Griet, while alchemizing duranium drill bits. It was then that her relationship to Griet changed: Our minds are open books for each other for alcohol brewing and liquids mining, and their economics thereof, respectively flashed in the raven-haired witch's mind when a vision of that sequence was being replayed, and never would they have imagined the product being known to the extent it had; Janick expected the drink to end up being just one of many different varieties of tihaar. Which, in fact, it was until GE-Dagobah came. And especially on Utapau after the battle on that planet since the drink was somehow associated with her. But then she couldn't help but answer the why some planets would outlaw tihaar, and what made some planets prohibitionistic, or otherwise outlaw alcohol above a certain concentration for recreative use.

"Usually planets where one can't find tihaar tend to fall into two categories: they are either run by species to whom alcohol can result in (relatively) quick deaths, or they usually allow sale of alcohol up to 40% abv for recreational use, with any higher concentrations being then reserved to medical and industrial use"

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Vaudin Miir"]


Her own clothes definitely screamed spacer. They'd been patched and re-threaded so many times, she lost track of what the original material even looked like. A sandy-brown brow lofted as she silently watched the Iktotchi down a chit-ton of drinks.

It reminded her of her own wild days. Uncomfortable.

Swiveling in her seat, the small of her back pressed against the lip of the bar so she faced outward, watching the throngs of bodies moving through the room. Elbows propped on the bar on either side of her ribs. Well-worn boots hitched along the base of the stool.

"Not bad," she mused, watching a rather large creature crawl through a door she was almost sure would give or crack away at his hulking force. But it didn't. Huh. Sturdy place.

"Considering things could've turned quickly for the worst." The unspoken mandalorian elephant in the room. "So I got some questions about this...Coalition. I'm assuming you're a...member? What does it take to travel freely around this space? Or did yah already know I'd ask that with precognition and all that?"

It was clear the explorer knew what his species could do, though not knowing exactly how it worked.. And that she'd been enough places to know when to negotiate for travel and access codes through someone else's turf. Not that she always did things the legal way. She just tried doing them the right way.

 

[Noatyr Moldmerr]

​''Hmm, interesting...''​ He stroked his chin, absorbing all the information she said. He had been ignored by Griet when he tried to make amends, but he figured he deserved that for not knowing. They were women of business, and they weren't the type to take anything from people like him.

​''Alright, another question, you said you were a witch, so what exactly is it you do? Besides making super strength alcohols and bewitching unsuspecting men like myself.'' ​He laughs quietly on the last part. Griet and [member="Janick Beauchamp"] must have had a long past tied together, and it must have been a rather wild ride. He didn't want to pry to much, so he kept quiet about asking them about their past together, but he still really wanted to know exactly what Janick did, since he had little idea of what witches actually were capable of.

His face said it all though, now he was nervous, something about what he had seen when he was drunk about her was still eating away at him. he only had faint flashes of memory, but he what he could make out was...

Oh perfect...he hadn't been able to tell before, but a faint hint of it had been hanging in the air for a while and he hadn't noticed it until now. She was a force user. Oh how he felt like an idiot. An idiot and a numbskull for being so oblivious.

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Perhaps you were drunk when I said that, but there is no magic whatsoever in the Asobi 95% tihaar. Just triple distillation; once the third distillation ends, the composition of the gas is the same as that of the liquid, a state known to chemists as azeotropism, and then no further separation is possible without an additive"

"It's one of those rare times where I actually see you explain what azeotropism is to other people, even if it might be for clearing up a misconception. I mean, I understand it just fine, product management usually leaves it to the product augmentation"

Now that [member="Noatyr Moldmerr"] knew exactly how the Asobi 95% tihaar was allowed to reach that abv concentration, she also spilled the beans on the actual meaning of azeotropism, which is not usually known to people outside of industries where distillation is an issue. It's often a selling point, an attention-grabbing one to be sure, but to most people, azeotropes evoke exoticism, if that, but it's easy to get misconceptions about azeotropes, Janick thought, while realizing that, just because Griet and herself both possessed the chemical knowledge to understand what azeotropism actually is, not everyone does. As for what Griet means by product augmentation, which is common for enhancing the client's experience over a wide range of product types, it's in the product's holo-site, where there is a page dedicated to azeotropism, given the title Why 95%?, and made interesting, and not simply because it's otherwise a dreary topic. And yet, she has to answer the second bit of the question, about her activities as a witch and, by extension, the Utai Magic Circle.

"I often do alchemize items such as weapons, suits of armor and other talismans as well. The other spells I do know, fire, ice, lightning, and also psychometry, divination, knowledge infusion, see more limited usage"

 

[Judah Lesan]

Reggie looked at the blue haired girl handing out the pills. Pills were supposed to make him feel better? He scratched his head and put his hat back on.

"Whatever you say dearie, but if I were you, I'd either find a belt before we all see your panties, or ye give me those pants your wearing in exchange for this nice flowery dress."

There was still a chuckle to his voice as he spoke. This was too good of a start to his day. Usually he wouldn't retrace his steps, but the fact it was not just him, that made him curious. He wanted to remember what he couldn't remember at the moment.

He took the pill and popped it in his mouth. Reggie tipped his head back as he swallowed it. This was going to be a day full of surprises, even if the only ones ready to go were him and the blue haired girl.

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Zef's eyebrows bounced at the mention of Kiffex. Holy hell, did they really speak like that? The old smuggler couldn't really remember. He couldn't even remember if he had ever met one before too. Aging was an awful curse. Eventually you end up forgetting your good times too and just the bad remain, or so he thought. Turning back to take a sip from his drink, the grumpy scoundrel listened to the group converse. Maybe somewhere deep inside Zef was enjoying this, reminiscing the endless hours spent in cantinas and on drinks, women and gambling.

Daro knew.

The absinthe came out and his slicer friend was onto it like a hungry hound. It made Zef's stomach churn. No, thanks.

A glimpse at the newcomer - Sedaire, Joza had called him, and the smuggler froze. A frown wrinkled his face more and the odd feeling of anger, sadness and vengeance boiled within. The Jedcred. He gazed it slowly acknowledging it was the same damn thing James Ticon wore.

Who the kark was this feth?

The scoundrel turned his seat around to face the newcomer with the absinthe.

"Who the kark are you and where the feth did you get that?" His hand fell on his holstered revolver, a deception. He was too close to act all gunslinger, his left hand remained on his glass.

The Jedcred - the talisman of an old friend of his, killed with no remorse ages ago by gangsters. James had got him the Corellian Bolt and kickstarted Zef's smuggling career when Zef had nowhere to go and to do after his father - Trek Vohaloveer - had died. He'd promised the man that he'd take care of his kids if anything happened to him.

Just another oath he had broken. Keira and the rest grew up as orphans.

Just another story in which Zef fled.

Not anymore.

[member="Julius Sedaire"] | [member="Tryp West"] | [member="Daro Tarsi"] | [member="Joza Perl"]​

 

[Noatyr Moldmerr]

​''Trust me on this, I hear a lot when I'm drunk. For example, I heard a Wampa on the dance floor, and there was a buncha Sarlacc's floating around the room...'' ​He begins to laugh at the insanity he was describing. None of it had been real, since Sarlacc's certainly didn't float, and most likely wouldn't have fit inside the station if there was more then one.

He had forgotten how much he enjoyed being drunk, since it took the edge off, not to mention gave everyone something to talk about. He flipped a few credits onto the table, and nodded.

''For you.''​ He smiled cheerfully.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"] definitely seemed like an interesting individual, so he made sure to add a tip. The prospect of having his weaponry possibly enhanced with the power of alchemy, was a rather interesting thought. Noatyr figured he'd ask her more about that later, but he figured there was one thing he wanted to do first, even if it wasn't successful.

''Wanna dance?''​ He casually asked the witch, extending a hand out to her, beckoning her to join him on the dancefloor.

He knew he was being a little to casual about it, alongside the fact that he probably had ruined most of his chances of a dance a while ago, but it never hurt to try. Besides, if he got on her good side, he might be able to get more of the Asobi 95% tihaar for a cheaper price at a later date.

Anything was possible.

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Or rather, the tip is a deposit towards alchemizing equipment. But yes, I will dance"

Debit: Cash 50, Credit: Unearned revenue 50, she thought, while processing the journal entry related to that 50-credit tip, erm, deposit in her head. What sort of unearned revenue, however, she had to wonder whether it would be for alchemizing Noatyr's equipment or for selling him tihaar; the Magic Circle was a retailer of the tihaar. And yet, [member="Noatyr Moldmerr"] seemed satisfied enough with her to want to dance with her. Yet, she started dancing after Noatyr extended his hands, and started dancing at a somewhat slow tempo, awkwardly slow perhaps, because she is not a witch used to dancing on a regular basis, unlike one [member="Joza Perl"], whose presence she could readily feel on this station, although she is aware that Joza is, in fact, part of the diplomatic game with the Mandos. Just that it was a little unnatural to her at first. And yet, she has come to realize that there is more to dancing than just the body movements. Janick does realize that it's going to be a different thing - she never really relied on dancing in social functions, regardless of why she even attended those functions to begin with.

 

[Noatyr Moldmerr]

Noatyr was just happy she had agreed. He began his own little awkward dance, not entirely taking himself seriously, but it was all in good fun in the end. He wasn't the greatest dancer around himself, but he at least knew how to show a lady a good time.

He promptly twirled in place and blew [member="Janick Beauchamp"] a kiss.

She danced like she had no idea what she was doing, but she was slowly getting into it. He had to admit, she wasn't the worse he had ever seen, and even then, he probably still would've had a good time.

He took hold of her hand, and started to dance alongside her. He had startled himself by doing it, but he had gone this far, so he figured he'd stick with it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if he should add onto the payment to get her to alchemize his weaponry, but figured he'd skip to that boat when he got to it.

​''I wonder what else she's capable of? Mind reading? Nah, that'd be a worst case thing.''

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Mind reading? I'd rather not do that without consent. As you said it is a worst-case scenario"

And then he would realize that mind reading is not the same as Drain Knowledge, no more than Drain Knowledge is the same as Memory Rub, even though all three are related, she thought, while [member="Noatyr Moldmerr"] didn't seem too startled by her not-so-great dancing. But she knew it would be out of place to refuse his advances in full view of so many people in a bar, especially not when he kissed her as she continued to dance. Now, it was not unheard of to use social functions as a means or venue to haggle, Janick was a little unsettled because she was made to feel that there could be ulterior motives, but that one is maybe her fault, since she was the one that suggested using the tip as a deposit towards alchemizing equipment. In fact, few clients paid deposits, about as often as financing was the order of the day, which made the aging of receivables (and the receivables proper) and also current liabilities other than accounts payable very minimal for the Circle proper, but since the Circle uses the direct method for its statement of cash flows, adjustments are pretty straightforward to do.

"Infusion of knowledge is a related spell I can readily cast but I'd rather not cast it unless somebody is struggling to learn something or the information is too sensitive to be transmitted otherwise"

 

[Noatyr Moldmerr]

​''Wait, did I say that out loud? Whoops. Either way, that actually sounds pretty interesting. Being able to simply will somebody to learn something, although I assume there's some sort of cost? Nothing is really free anymore.''

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]'s powers sounded far more impressive then what he'd seen from Sith or Jedi. It was a rather interesting thing to think about, that he was interacting with such a powerful being, but a humble one.

Opportunity's like this didn't come around to often, and most would have grasped it in their claws and taken advantage of it, but Noatyr was different. He either didn't notice his chance or he was having too much of a good time to actually try and take advantage of anything. Not a huge surprise, since he was a bit of an idiot.

Staying true to himself, he accidently tripped over the robes he had set down earlier, and he fell forwards with a slight gasp a surprise.

''Ow...''​ He mumbled from the floor, his voice muffled. Well, there went his cool exterior.

 

[Tryp West]

"Nuthin' ta apologize ta me fer," she drawled with a smile at Joza. "Ah DO know, an' dey ain't-chor 'sponsibility. Let 'em take a dive fer demselves ifn' dey kin't behave, ya feel me?"

Despite the set up, Tryp relaxed as the company (good company, she decided) gathered around this little corner of the bar. She took a long pull from her ale, conscious of pace- she didn't drink a lot normally and didn't intend to change that now with so many mandalorians kicking around in the background....

Of course she didn't expect the rather pleasant little gathering to end up going south as fast as it ended up doing.

"Wot in tarnation?"

Tryp took a small step back, out of the line of attention between the two men, catching Daro's eye with a lofted brow. What in the feth was this about and what had triggered it?

"Eh, everytings cool, right fellas?" She said carefully, slowly putting her ale down on the bar. Freeing up her hands in case, indeed, everything was not cool.

[member="Daro Tarsi"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Zef Halo"] [member="Julius Sedaire"]​

 

[Sal Katarn]

Campouna Station,

Heartbeat House

Katarn strode inside, boots grimy, hair a sonic showered mess, green eyes flat and searching. They found their mark soon enough. Rough coat rustling he walked with the distinctive stride that seemed nonchalant, yet left his right hand never far from the holster at his hip, and made his way toward the bar.

Several people had already engaged her in conversation, but that had never stopped Sal before, not when he was here on business.

Strange, but it seemed like there were an awful lot of Mandalorians here today. Could be bad news, but he'd just have to play along and see.

"Pink," he rasped to [member="Joza Perl"] in a voice that sounded as if someone took his vocal chords and rubbed them raw with a sheet of sandpaper. "You know a fellow goes by the name [member="Julius Sedaire"]?"

[member="Daro Tarsi"] | [member="Zef Halo"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Anger was not an emotion she’d ever seen her father wear. Which wasn’t saying much given that she could count the number of interactions they’d had on one hand. Still, the narrowing of his eyes, the tense body language and the hand resting at his hip as he confronted Sedaire about something she didn’t quite understand…it was interesting.

Joza leaned an elbow onto the bar, head supported by her hand as she hung back and played observer. Of course she had the instinct to try and mediate, but this wasn’t her fight. Tryp stepped in and tried to smooth things over between them, pleasant demeanor and height coming between the two men.

The Zeltron was content to watch until a familiar voice sounded from somewhere behind her. Not familiar in the good way, mind you.

“Greaseball.” She responded by way of greeting, face screwing in displeasure. Another long sip of the drink before she jerked her head in the direction of the feuding men. “Get in line.”

[member="Sal Katarn"] [member="Tryp West"] [member="Zef Halo"] [member="Julius Sedaire"] [member="Daro Tarsi"]

 

[Sal Katarn]

"Hm?"

The bounty hunter looked over and saw harsh words getting traded by older men, hair gray and faces weathered. His eyes narrowed a bit, like he was looking against the glare of the sun. They both looked and sounded like Corellians. Loud, pounding whiskey, and generally acting like they had their blood replaced with speeder fuel at birth.

"Which one?"

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

It wasn’t easy getting the giant Nutri pill down without a glass of water, but she immediately felt better once it coursed through her bloodstream. With her teenage metabolism, it didn’t take much - feth, even a mint could make her feel more lively now and then.

“I’m parched. We gotta find some water soon, or better yet an energy drink."

Zyrias titled her head to the side at Reggie’s offer to exchange clothing. He was right in a way. Her baggy pants would only get in the way in case they needed to make some kind of hasty escape. For all the criminal knew they’d woken up in a strange cult where their organs were about to be harvested.

“Alright fine, but if that dress smells like B.O. I might actually hurl.” Zyri dropped trou and happened to be wearing a pair of men’s boxers with little red hearts all over them. She chuckled at them and tossed the pants to the side.

“Okay big fella, gimme that dress. Then maybe we can find something to eat or drink.”

Or steal, thought the slicer. As soon as she ruled out any danger, she’d start fencing the place. And looking Reggie up and down, assessing his size and bulk, Zyrias reasoned he’d make a great shield if things went downhill fast.

[member="Reggie"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Even though spells like memory infusion are instead used by those few that know it for altering memories or for erasing memories, it has in common that it requires a lot of mana to perform, a lot more mana than for reading a mind. Also, it's easier for a witch to erase a memory from someone whose memory isn't very good, but the opposite is true of alterations and infusions"

"In my experience, while Sith and other dark-siders come with highly variable intellectual assets, most of them have skillsets geared towards direct confrontation"

So [member="Noatyr Moldmerr"] tripped over Janick's long, black, strap-less robes. Unlike Griet, who wore a purple miniskirt, and dark blue leggings, which were much more revealing than Janick's clothing. Man does Griet look so good without fear of others tripping over her, she thought, while Griet helped Noatyr back up on his feet, out of a burning desire not to be overshadowed by Janick for his attention, despite the relative disparity in their skill in the Force. There is, in fact, little that Janick has that I don't have from a romantic standpoint, and that's mainly about a difference in charisma, Force-power or in hair color. Beauty, brains, to the extent a perfect memory is, in fact, a poisonous asset, fashionability, and even personality, we both have it, Griet thought, while Janick also aided him up his feet, feeling responsible for it, at least partly because of the length of her robe. Maybe Janick should go see a tailor to get alterations made; perhaps that Utai valet was, in fact, skilled enough as a seamstress to get the alteration made to the robe upon return to Utapau, after this function as a brand ambassador for the Asobi 95% tihaar.

"I apologize: sometimes the length of my robe does that to other people. I really ought to get that robe cut down to about 2-3 inches above the ankles"

 

[Noatyr Moldmerr]

​''Hehe...it's fine, it's all good, I've been known to trip over stuff when I'm not focused on something...''

​They were both helping him out? Well, that was something. Maybe Griet was friendlier then he had first thought. Honestly, he didn't know, but he was happy they were even the slightest tad worried about him.

It wasn't often he had a pair of lovely ladies actually give him a hand.

He gave them both another quick once over. [member="Janick Beauchamp"] and Griet both were giving off similar vibes. It the two very closer then on first glance. He shook his head a few times, he really had to stop staring at them.

Both had many charms on their side, both literally and figuratively.

''So don't cut your dress on my account.'' Noatyr laughed. ​''Being a grade A idiot is one of my specialties.''

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"I apologize for my discourtesies; I'm a little hungry. What would you like to eat?"

Or rather, a clumsiness-based idiot. Perhaps a side effect of the tihaar. However, better too short than too long when it comes to dresses: today proved that conclusively, since the lowermost part at and below the ankles wears out much faster than other portions, she thought, while fetching a menu of the pub grub for [member="Noatyr Moldmerr"] to choose from, and the same went for the other two. Sure, the menu at the bar isn't the most refined, but the two ladies would still eat from that sort of joint that is supposed to be accessible to a wide range of patrons. But something caught her eyes: the iWitness. An apple and mushroom risotto that is served with the mushrooms in the outer circle and the apples in the inner circle, with rice underneath, and pulled-pork poutine as a side dish. So neither Griet nor Janick hesitated to order one iWitness apiece, but they would have to be quick to get an order in: the other patrons were also busy placing orders for food as they began to get hungry, too. Maybe, still enthralled by the two ladies' respective charms, he could be made to eat an iWitness, too.

"I would like an iWitness, please" she told the Utai waiter.

"Me too!"