Public SETTLEMENT 37-ZED-WILD SANDS CANTINA

[Jada Raxis]

TATOOINE
SETTLEMENT 37-ZED
WILD SANDS CANTINA

​

In the Core worlds the wars raged on. Out in the rim, life was quiet. Jada liked the quiet and that's how she'd ended up at Settlement 37-Zed. She'd long been living in the rim as a simple riff raff freight hauler fighting imperial governments, but now found herself in a pipeline of logistics, brining supplies to the far-flung place. The outpost was really growing into a miniature town now, with a ramshackle mud hut center and its own little market. Miners stripped Tatooine bare under her sands, and the locals bought heavy amounts of necessities with no tariffs from local traders.

She was at the end of one such haul, a bottle of Corellian ale and a data laid out before her in a booth table. It read the following

Revenue from last job 3,000 Cr
Docing Fee 350 Cr
Parts/Repair 1500cr
Profit 1,150

She shrugged. It wasn't too bad of a haul, but not the best either. She read the local news on her data pad and slugged another sip of ale. Her mind worked over the possibilities of her next trip.

Should she get involved in the war? Stay away? or maybe just take some R&R and try her hand at convoy protection gig fending off Tuskens?​

Her choices at the current point were limitless. Then her thoughts were disrupted by a raucous noise outside.

The doors of the Cantina swung open, letting in the cool night air and the inky darkness from outside....

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Jada Raxis

Red stepped into the cantina through the door, opening the door and stepping inside. Red wore his combat armor, the olive color blending in with the surroundings. Red held his helmet underneath his right arm. His red hair was a stark contrast to his surroundings, making him stand out in the bland cantina. Red looked around the cantina. Some of the patrons eyed him over, looking at him, before returning to their drinks.

Red stepped forward, approaching the bar. The weapons he had clinked and shifted as he stepped forward. He was quite heavily armed, and was drawing some attention and concern from the cantina patrons. Red approached the bar, stopping in front of it, before sitting down on a stool. The bartender came over, glanced him up and down, and set a drink down next to him without a word, and then quickly hurried off to attend to other customers. Red set some credits down on the counter and grabbed the drink, sipping it.

For the bar goers, it probably wasn't often they saw someone like Red in this tiny town of theirs. Red had been on an official assignment, dealing with some... business, to say the least. Business that prompted Red being sent in. And when Red had to go attend to business, it usually wasn't something good, especially if he was going in full kit and gear.

Needless to say, he had completed one part of his mission, but now he needed transportation to another place. His transport had been destroyed in the conflict, and now he needed someone else to bring him to the next location of his mission. Hence why he was here, hopefully he'd be able to hire a spacer to transport him to his next destination.

Red looked around the bar, scanning the crowd.

"Anyone here got a ship?" He asked aloud. "I need to hire someone to transport some cargo."

 

[Jada Raxis]

​

When Red stepped through the door one eyebrow rose. She pegged the symbols on his armor right away. The old now defunct Confederacy symbol stood out like a sore thumb. The dude had so many guns and gadgets the felt like she was listening to a windchime. It was none of her business what an ex merc was doing out here. In this settlement it could be any manner of things.

She glanced back down to her datapad, and scrolled up with her fingers to open a job board. Just then the stranger popped the question. She glanced up, grinned and then raised two fingers.

"Right here. Where you headed?"

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Jada Raxis

"Right here. Where you headed?"

Red turned and looked at the woman, examining her. He could sense an aura about her through the Force. She was a strange one. In fact, she was... a lot different from the other people in the crowd. He could sense her connection to the Force. Intriguing. What was a Force-Sensitive spacer doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?

Red walked over to her, approaching her booth table. He sat down in a seat across from her, and set his helmet down on the table. He took another sip of his drink, and nodded at her.

"The name's Red. For... reasons you can probably guess. Red said, introducing himself. "Obviously I need transport for myself and some cargo to Atzerri as quickly and discreetly as possible. It's a bit of a ways from here, but I can pay you for your troubles, of course. How fast is your ship?" He asked. Hopefully she would be willing too help him out. Otherwise, Red didn't really have much other choices for getting off-world. And that... would complicate things much further.

 

[Jada Raxis]

Subject 73 Red

​

So it was a no questions asked kinda job? Her curiosity was piqued. She knew from years of this life better than to ask though. A simple nod to her new employer Mr. Red was all that was required.

"I can be very discreet. Names Jada Raxis Cap'n of the Sovereign Ship Quantum Runner. She's a Jast 1 Freighter. She packs a 0.3 Class Hyperdrive which is blazing fast. As for any carry on and cargo I have about a hundred lead shielded areas to store it. I'd be happy to quote your for say.... Five large, roundtrip with room and board included."

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Jada Raxis

"I can be very discreet. Names Jada Raxis Cap'n of the Sovereign Ship Quantum Runner. She's a Jast 1 Freighter. She packs a 0.3 Class Hyperdrive which is blazing fast. As for any carry on and cargo I have about a hundred lead shielded areas to store it. I'd be happy to quote your for say.... Five large, roundtrip with room and board included."

Red nodded in satisfaction. Excellent, this was what he had been wanting to hear. A good, fast ship with good storage space and a captain that didn't ask any questions. It seemed like things were actually starting to turn in Red's favor for a change. Hopefully his luck wouldn't run out anytime soon, he still had a mission to complete after all.

Red pulled out some credits and put them on the table. "Five large, and some extra as insurance in case we run into any... trouble on the way." He told her.

 

[Cale Gunderson]

Things had been eventful lately, he'd returned home for one, and stopped almost two decades worth of running from who he really was, and for all his fear about it, Cale had found the answer to be far less horrifying than he'd thought. He wasn't a husk, or a monster, and though he might've been turned into a puppet once, that wasn't truly what he was. Who he'd been before they'd flipped the switch, had been real, and was real again. It didn't change much, but at the same time, it changed everything.

He saw the galaxy through the same jaded, cynical eyes, but he didn't have to run anymore. He could show Aleks the galaxy as Jedi, not fugitives, and he didn't have to worry so dearly about bounty hunters, or someone simply learning his name. No more pseudonyms, no more dark alley hideaways, Cale was free, physically at least. The amount he could do that actually mattered was the same as ever, nothing, as it was for everyone. The mightiest Sith and the lowliest urchin could both do hardly anything that would truly last.

Anything good or bad lasted a decade at most. It was a cynical outlook for a Jedi, and one that required no small amount of drinking to sustain. And so he found himself here, in some nameless cantina, in some settlement he couldn't name, surrounded by people he didn't know. Aleks was probably looking for him, Cale's learner tended to worry when his one-armed master wandered off, kid just couldn't help it. But for now, he tried enjoying his drink.

But then, someone entered, attuned to the force ever so slightly. It was not a dark presence, but it wasn't familiar either. Not Aleks, not a Sith, an unknown. Looking over his shoulder, Cale set his gaze on Jada Raxis and lifted an eyebrow. If he was lucky, nothing would come of it, but he so rarely was.

 

[Jada Raxis]

Subject 73 Red

​

The business was concluded. She slid her newfound creds from the table and slid a key card to the Quantum Runner across the table.

"I don't intend to leave until tomorrow. One or two ends to wrap up before I leave here. Meet me at the docs at noon local. The card can ping the ship for its exact location. Don't let anyone, but you handle it."

 

[Jada Raxis]

Cale Gunderson

​

She felt someone very faintly take an interest in their conversation. Seasoned brown eyes scanned the room to find the one who looked out of place more than felt. She was horrible at sensing people. Her eyes did spot something unusual. Far less with the force than with the naked eyes she looked him over. Stiff posture, little bit of anxious foot taping. She could feel the waves of distant but familiar echoes around him.

She pegged him for a Jedi or at least a once practicing one. ​

There was no need to beat about the bush. She caught his glance and gave a nod as if to say "I see you, Your move."

​

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Jada Raxis Cale Gunderson

"I don't intend to leave until tomorrow. One or two ends to wrap up before I leave here. Meet me at the docs at noon local. The card can ping the ship for its exact location. Don't let anyone, but you handle it."

Red nodded, taking the keycard and putting it into his pack. "Got it, I'll meet you there tomorrow at noon. Once I've gotten all of the cargo together I'll head that way and load it up. I'll make sure to keep the card with me at all times. I'll meet you there." Red said, standing up, business now concluded. He grabbed his helmet, and he was about to walk away from the table, when he noticed someone else in the cantina. A man, sitting not too far away

Red could sense the man through the Force. Red knew that distinct aura, the man sitting across the bar was a Jedi, there was no doubt about it. Red had been around Jedi long enough to tell when someone was a Jedi, hell Red was even a Jedi himself. Red knew without a doubt that this man was a Jedi. Apparently, Jada noticed him too, nodding at the man.

"Friend of yours?" Red asked Jada, still examining the man. Red waved the man over, motioning him to come to them. If this man was a fellow Jedi, maybe he could help Red and Jada... Hopefully, at least.

 

[Cale Gunderson]

"I'm afraid I don't make the first one, I'm terribly shy 'ya see." Cale motioned for the bartender to sling him another drink, plus one for the woman of unknown affiliation. Restored to a Jedi Knight, he probably should've been more proactive, but Cale had lived in this part of the galaxy almost as long as he had in the part people actually cared about, and thus played it smart. Deception and downplaying had gotten him through more situations than he could count. No one expected trouble from the tired drunk with one arm, even less expected him to be capable if he tried to stir some up.

But the saber hidden away under a coat wasn't a conversation piece, and he was potentially as deadly with it as ever. Not that he'd put that to the test recently.

He took a drink from the freshly filled glass, and put on a more pleasant front.

"Do you have a move to make? Or are we alright to just enjoy our drinks?" He wouldn't dream of starting something, it was too much effort, but if Jada Raxis intended to, then Cale had no inclination to be slow on the draw.

 

[Jada Raxis]

Cale Gunderson Subject 73 Red

"I haven't made his acquaintance though it's fair to say he looks to want to make ours."

When the man spoke, Jada held up a gloved hand, fingers spread slightly. She could read his body language now as being ready to flow into an attack mode. Years of Echani battle training taught her the look, the tightening of the jaw and the sight of energy moving to muscles under those clothes.

"Relax, we're just here having a drink. What's your story?"


" I'll start, names Jada Raxis Cap'n of the Quantum Runner. I do a fair bit of piloting about these parts and not many Jedi venture out this way anymore. Especially with the Mando presence nowadays in this area. Anyhow I move freight and cargo with no questions asked for the right type of customer."

She waved to the bar, signaling a server to bring them some glasses. She figured since she already had the job, might as well socialize just a bit.

​

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Jada Raxis Cale Gunderson

"I haven't made his acquaintance though it's fair to say he looks to want to make ours."

Red nodded, still staring at the man. This was an interesting meeting... It could go any way really, either bad or good. This was going to be interesting...

" I'll start, names Jada Raxis Cap'n of the Quantum Runner. I do a fair bit of piloting about these parts and not many Jedi venture out this way anymore. Especially with the Mando presence nowadays in this area. Anyhow I move freight and cargo with no questions asked for the right type of customer."

"I'm Red." He said, nodding at the man. He'd let Jada take the lead here. If she needed any help, then he'd interject and help her out. Until then, he'd just sit back and watch the events unfold for now.

 

[Cale Gunderson]

"Cale." He introduced himself in a manner befitting the kind of man he was. Blunt, to the point, no-nonsense. She'd had a good read on him, at least enough to know he was tense, which suggested some level of training. The other one he didn't know or recognize, but 'Red' didn't feel like a hostile presence in the slightest. Maybe the opposite even. But he kept quiet, and took a sip of his drink.

The Mandalorians were his concern at the moment, he wasn't in the mood to tangle with beskar clad brutes, nor was he naive enough to think he could handle them in force. But he had the nagging feeling he was here for a reason, so he was content to see what that might be.

Subject 73 Red | Jada Raxis ​

 

[Jada Raxis]

Subject 73 Red Cale Gunderson

"Well Cale I suspect you were brought across my path for a reason. Not often that anythin' happens in the verse that's a coincidence. So I gotta ask, what brings you out here to wonderful 37 Zed. This sand lot aint nothin' on the eyes."

The glasses clinked down upon the table and Jada slid the server a ten-credit chip, shooting a wink his way.

She tipped the dusty bottle, letting the amber Corellian Ale spill into each glass.