Private Pair-A-Dice

[Makai Dashiell]

Noah Corek Jr. | Music | Peal Island Casino , Pavo Prime

​

When you happened to be the son of a wealthy business owner, outings with friends tended to be a little different.

Which explains how to young men found themselves to be high rollers at the Pearl Island Casino. Makai had been working nearly non-stop for his father since graduating university, feverishly plotting mining sites in the Pancath area for months on end. It was interesting work and he wasn't complaining, but he wanted a break that didn't involve the company or worrying about the molecular structure of various rock and ore.

Growing up, he had befriended a fairly decent group of kids who were like himself. They typically met through each others parents and various events ; charity galas, the opera, business auctions, conferences, elite academic academies, and various business dealings. Most of these types of his friends were currently busy. It wasn't surprising given their ages and family status - most of them were either in advanced schooling or back to work at the company their parents owned.

However, one person did answer the call - Noah Corek Jr. Their fathers had done business in the past and they had met a few times here and there, not exactly close but acquainted enough to be comfortable to hang out together. Makai had chosen the perfect spot for two young twenty somethings : a casino. What more could either of them ask for? Beautiful girls, varied entertainment, and free flowing alcohol.

Currently at the sabacc table with fresh skills from Azula Tindara , Makai was going to try his luck. A waitress had brought a Corellian whisky on the rocks to him and he offered a smile, watching as she left. Clearly these waitress were designed to distract from the game - the casino wasn't dumb.

"Thanks for joining me J.R. . Surprised you were free - seems like all of us kids are back at work this time of year."

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Junior had not exactly been surprised when him and Makai Dashiell had been given preferential treatment when the entered the casino. Junior's father was well known throughout the galaxy due to his dealings as both an arms provider and mercenary leader while Makai's was just as well known for his mining and salvage operations, both having accrued not a small amount of influence in their different sectors of galactic economics.

But how had two men, from wildly varying backgrounds and business sectors come to know one another, and whose children had now become acquaintances? It was simple. Mutual interest for the most part. Weapons manufacturing required raw materials to make them and mines and salvaging often required a pretty good amount of security depending on where exactly they were located at. It was for this reason that Noah Corek and Judah Dashiell had become acquainted and in turn so had their sons.

Recently Junior had distanced himself from his father however, looking to make a name for himself outside of his father's shadow, hard to do considering he was named after the man. It was for this reason he had been wandering the galaxy on himself and seeking to make his name. During this time he had met many new people, a certain pretty Zeltron named Lossa Aureus popping to the forefront of his mind, but he also still seeked to keep his old life with him.

It was for this reason that had had answered Makai's call to come and hang out at a casino on Pavo Prime and use their respective family names to get the high roller status. Sipping at the tihaar that had been delivered along with Makai's whiskey he chuckled and shook his head. "Not me Makky, I've uh kinda been wandering the galaxy honestly, bouncing between space port and planet and space station. It was kinda nice to get a call to be honest..."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Makai looked at his cards as JR spoke, listening to his tale of wandering the galaxy. Eyebrows raised in response, wanting to shake his head. However, the young man would wait. His hand was looking less than ideal at sixteen, and there was a debate to toss in another bet. Maybe he should bluff a little, which seemed like a decent strategy, and he tossed in another chit into the pot as the dealer moved to the next patron at the table.

"My Dad would never go for that. I tried that and it lasted a few months before I was drug back to the land of the living. Been on the straight and narrow since then, that was years ago though. I'll consider it a failed teenage rebellion of sorts."

Another sip of his whisky and he regarded the younger Corek.

"Do you like bouncing around, planet to planet with no goal? Seems...I don't know, lonely and boring. Not saying work at times can be any easier, because I know for a fact I'm getting tired of looking at rocks through scanners. On the same coin, what else would I be doing? Pissing away a trust fund at the club?"

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Makai Dashiell​

Noah Corek Jr had learned many things from his namesake father, gambling had not been one of them, that had been something he had picked up from from one of his mothers in fact, his bio mom to be specific. Why she had needed to learn how to gamble better than his father was a topic that had never been broached despite the various 'practice sessions' the two of them had participated in.

Looking at his cards he saw that they added up to a dismal eleven, lamenting the fact that he had allowed Makky to get him to play sabacc and not his usual preferred game of its predecessor, and much easier to understand and play, pazaak. Deciding to live dangerously he threw a chit into the pot, it wasn't like it was his money since the casino had comped them the chits as part of their 'high roller' status.

He shrugged at the others young mans words before turning to speak to him. "Well it wasn't going to be Plan A. That was to join the Alliance army...my moms shot that down pretty quickly and even dad wasn't too happy about it. So we came to a compromise that I do what I'm doing now instead."

When he was asked if it was lonely he was met with yet another shrug. "It can be, when I'm traveling the hyperlanes yeah it can be but when you actually land and talk and interact with people? It can actually be pretty fun. Other than that I take a few passenger and cargo contracts here and there, track a few bounties and do a few good deeds."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

When he was asked if it was lonely he was met with yet another shrug. "It can be, when I'm traveling the hyperlanes yeah it can be but when you actually land and talk and interact with people? It can actually be pretty fun. Other than that I take a few passenger and cargo contracts here and there, track a few bounties and do a few good deeds."

Makai looked incredulous not at the fact he had just lost in a round of sabacc, but at the contradiction J.R. just mentioned. Eyebrow raised in a question as the sabacc table was being reset, taking longer as the casino switched out the dealer.

"So you couldn't join the Alliance but your mother let's you collect bounties? That doesn't make a lot of sense....unless she has no idea of what you're doing. Which is what I'm starting to suspect. Sounds like you're playing a dangerous game ; I don't know your mother at all but if she's like most then if she finds out you're in hot water."

He could understand trying to find oneself, he had already been through that phase, a short lived one when his father put him firmly back on track. No way was he getting off the train now, not that he wanted to.

A new round of betting, Makai tossed in a chip, deciding to see where his hand took him next round.

"If you ever get bored just let me know. You can come stare at me as I stare at rocks. It's been very thrilling."

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Makai Dashiell​

Junior let out a groan as the finally card was played and he lost a healthy amount of chips to the winner of the round. He turned towards Makai as the table was rest and chuckled and shook his head when he mentioned one of his mother, particularly the one who hadn't wanted him to join the army. "No, no she does not. Technically my agreement with my parents was to just explore, haul cargo and that kind of thing. They uh...aren't really aware of the more dangerous stuff I've been getting up to."

He threw a few chips in as the betting went around again and looked at his cards, surprisingly a pretty decent hand for an initial dealing. He would have to be patient though and not get too overzealous and scare away the others at the table, well except of Makky.

He chuckled at the offer from his friend and gave him a shrug with a grin. "If I wanted to sit around and watch something that dull I would have just stayed home and helped my moms around the garden or my dad in his workshop. Trust me, my life right now is a lot of things but boring is not one of them."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

He chuckled at the offer from his friend and gave him a shrug with a grin. "If I wanted to sit around and watch something that dull I would have just stayed home and helped my moms around the garden or my dad in his workshop. Trust me, my life right now is a lot of things but boring is not one of them."

"Yikes, you're really helping a guys ego out here. Way to make my life feel absolutely useless there J.R."

Sure, it was dull to others, but Makai found it fascinating. He had always been interested in caverns and caves and odd little rocks and outcroppings growing up. What kid purposely went spelunking around in old firegem mine on Tatooine? Especially when said kid was of the semi-aquatic variety? When it came to studying something in university, courses around his little hobby just made sense.

About to poke some more fun at his friend, eyes furrowed. Two human or near-human men in identical black suits were slowly moving around the room, watching the patrons. It was a high roller area, so Makai was more than suspicious.

He nudged Corek Jr.

"Security or card counting? They've been circling the table ahead of us since we stepped in."

Noah Corek Jr.

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Makai Dashiell​

Junior chuckled to himself when he was nudged by his friend and leaned his head to smile at him. "Sorry Makky, it just seems dull to me, staring at rocks all day long and such. Don't get me wrong I'm sure it's exciting and thrilling for you but me? Nah I'd rather be wandering too and fro, running cargo and passenger and possibly getting into a scrape here and there. Call it my Mandalorian upbringing."

Junior had noticed the two men almost as soon as they had entered the room, their identical dresses, curious nature about the table near them and their almost constant pacing. His first thought had been card counters but that had been crossed off of the pretty handily when he realized that their dress made them stand out as did their actions, something one didn't want to do when cheating at a casino.

Next had been security but again this was discounted very fast as well. If they were security why were they focused on a single table and not the entirety of the sizable room. No these men were here for a different reason and for some reason, call it his gut or maybe his Force sensitivity, he didn't think they were benevolent. "I don't think they are either..."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

"Wow, way to make a guy feel great about his career choice."

'Mandalorian upbringing' gave him pause. What even was that? Running around with helmets and hitting each other with sticks? There were currently issues rumbling about the Mandos and Galactic Alliance, which Makai was certain would break out into all out war. He wondered if Jay-R would join in the efforts. Weren't there warring bands of Mandalorians within the culture? He supposed a war against the Alliance would unite all of them, or at least most of them.

Before Makai could even ask what a Mandalorian upbringing entailed, they were back to the subject of the suited men checking out the one singular table. Makai's brows furrowed in thought, mind running through several possibilities. Gaze went to the other patrons in the area, no one had really noticed the men or if they had, it wasn't showing yet.

"Assassins? I mean, kill someone in here and that's a lot of credits."

Noah Corek Jr.