Public Shadow of the Mirror [Darkwire, Kelada]

[Xandyr Carrick]

He felt a slight pang of guilt for leaving Daiya behind in the bar. There could well have been more trouble on the way. However, he needed to get the trandoshan back to his ship and properly secured.

"Hell, he is heavy," grunted Xandyr. The extra weight was more pressure on his injuries. The reptilian lump wasn't going to get any lighter on the way back. Xandyr had learned to take whatever the galaxy threw at him - and it had thrown a lot - and to keep putting on foot in front of the other.

"How about a free beer or two and...six hundred credits for the cuffs and help?" he offered Yula. It wasn't a huge cut of the bounty, but it was reasonable. Dhe could always just drop the trandoshan and force Xandyr to try and drag the lump back to his ship.

 

[Yula Perl]

“I’m not one to turn down a free beer.” Her eyebrows waggled up and down. “Or two.” Grunting, she shifted the Trandoshan’s weight onto one shoulder. He was a heavy karker for sure. “Or credits.”

Hell, good contacts were invaluable, too. Which was why Yula was in such a good mood—all had turned out well so far, aside from a few broken bones and nasty bruises of Xandyr’s part.

“What’d this guy do, anyway?” She asked as they lumbered towards the door, the unconscious sack of reptilian potatoes in tow.

Xandyr Carrick

 

[Noah Gloom]

Noah had been having a very hard month, lost half a dozen patients due to his ill equipped clinic. First it was one, then it was five all at once. With a few more dead or missing he was pretty sure it was the poor equipment but it could also be something else. He pushed that thought back, all his crew were volunteers and heavily vetted as not being at least corpos. Bloody corpos didn't like his free clinic, well that was until one of them was bleeding out on the street and need the help desperately, bloody morals, damned jedi side.

Even though he had left the jedi a long time ago and even cut off his arm during a battle, something in him still sat firmly in knowledge of the jedi code. Still using it against him, maybe it's because it was the only thing that kept him sane during his prison years or maybe because he had a natural affinity to the danged thing, he couldn't help but look after anyone who walked through his doors. It certainly kept him on his toes and open since most of the corpos in his area had to use his clinic before, so they looked the other way. Sometimes he knew they would even fudge reports to keep his clinic out of it and more than once equipment he needed would randomly appear on his doorstep. Old equipment sure but still useful with the right tools and training. Both of which he had in spades.

He walked into Lorana's Labyrinth, he spotted a Trandoshan on the floor with, were those fluffy pink cuffs. Well then that definitely requires a very heavy drink before he got anywhere near that. He walked over to the bar "Hey Bo, I could use your heaviest drink. You know why and you know how strong." The bear looked at him nodding "Another bad one huh? How many this time?" He asked as he poured out a heavy wookie beer, something that knock even the strongest wookie out for a week. "6 in the month, 1 early on, then suddenly five all at once. I think my equipment is getting worse." Noah replied taking the drink and walking away.

He saw Daiya chatting with someone he didn't know ( Darkwire Maestro ) looking at them both there was a lot of tense energy, they could use a mediator and with this strong drink that would be that person. "Daiya long time no see, it's been a while since you've been in my clinic. So gotta ask whose your friend here? I'm gonna guess new corpo your trying to buy out? Tell me if I am close."

Yula Perl l Xandyr Carrick

 

[Xandyr Carrick]

Yula Perl

"Umf," went Xandyr at first. He was also very much a fan of beer and credits. He was a fan of pretty zeltrons who helped him in times of need with fluffy handcuffs. However, most of all he was a fun of the notion of being full of more bacta and painkillers and not being underneath the trandoshan.

"Minor enforcer for a gang on Coruscant. Murdered..."

Xandyr took a breath. He was glad that there were no stairs on the way down from the bar entrance.

"Murdered a government official, was tagged...on the way off world. Shall we try...and convince a taxi driver...to drive us to the port."

 

[Daiya]

Daiya was in the middle of taking another sip of her drink when the Corpo spoke again, and its bitter bite helped mask her instictive reaction to the woman's assertion. Zenie's whereabouts weren't always immediately known to Daiya, Shenn kept that a secret even from her, but she knew there was a Froswythe location. A farm sounded about right, who would look for a wealthy planet's heiress on a farm after all? The girl didn't know if the businesswoman in front of her was actually telling the truth or not, but her uncertainty didn't stop the alarm she felt.

"A farm? That's stupid!" the girl laughed to herself, a brave front but a front nonetheless. Daiya didn't have to know where Zenie was, she trusted Shenn enough for that. She just had to keep the Corpos from knowing, and clouding the confidence of their intelligence was part of the game. "Even if there was a farm, that was only for a few days."

The drink was giving the teen more confidence than she ordinarily had, and she was ordinarily pretty brash. Going toe-to-toe with a Corpo was something Daiya wouldn't have attempted without a blaster on a good day. But this one seemed pretty toothless, and she'd bought the girl a drink. So entertaining the woman's idle threats seemed less of a worry today, more and more they were an amusement as the powers of the Meltdown worked its way into her system.

"You may not have come here to make a deal," Daiya said, scoffing at the idea of a Corpo with a day off. Like they would even understand the mere concept! The young shadowrunner was quite certain that the only time a Corpo would rest is if the little people like Darkwire were too busy with something else. She stared in confusion at the woman, "But I'm sure there's still a deal to be made."

That made sense, didn't it?

Well, it didn't matter to the girl, because in walked someone she hadn't seen in literally months. She beamed as he made a beeline for her, and the tone of his words embodied the type of caring she had come to expect from the doctor. The girl jumped from her seat, wrapping her arms around the man in a hug. "Noah! You came, that's aaa-mazing!"

"Now, Noah here would come to mmake a deal," She turned to the Corpo lady, clarifying the doctor's entrance in a way that made sense to her. Daiya still didn't know where she was going with this, but the words kept tumbling out of her mouth, so she wasn't inclined to stop yet. Stepping back, the girl gestured toward the woman, presenting her like a game show prize. She giggled as she explained, "This is my new bbusiness partner, uhh..."

"Rhé."​

"Rhé, that's it!" Daiya declared, a little louder than she'd meant to. She put her glass down again after having taken a sip. "No, no, we're not bussiness partners really, I just made that up. We just ran into each other, a ttotal coincidence, can you believe it?"

"But Noah, she's nnot here to make a deal, okay?" the girl suggested, waggling her finger at Noah in a sly manner. Daiya giggled again, and thought, at last, that her drink was working a little too fast for her. Her hands illustrated the pace of her thoughts, making wide gestures as she spoke. "Even if you run the bestest clinic on Denon, she's not interested. Got it?"

Daiya wasn't quite sure she got it herself, but hoped she would by the time she finished her glass.

Yula Perl Xandyr Carrick Darkwire Maestro Noah Gloom​

 

[Darkwire Maestro]

This was more like it.

Having drinks and forgetting about the cares of the galaxy. This was a relaxing evening. Spending that evening plotting on how best to prove to a kid that they were, indeed, still a kid and that they had a lot to learn about how the galaxy worked? Well that was just a bonus.

She acknowledged the young man who came up to the pair and gave her name when prompted. Rhé chuckled at Daiya's increasingly slurred speech. As she figured, the kid did not yet know how to handle her alcohol, nor was she aware of her tolerance. Rhé was fine with this. "No. No deals to be made this evening. Just trying to have a nice drink with some new friends." The woman gave the young man, Noah, a warm smile and raised her drink to him as a cheers.

Rhé was in no hurry to rush anything. She was quite sure that Daiya would bury herself well enough on her own. Just how far Rhé could take it to where Daiya would still be alright but just incredibly embarrassed? Well that was the big question. "So Daiya, are you enjoying your drink? I'm sure your medic friend here can tell you all about the effects of alcohol on the developing brains of young adults."

Daiya | Noah Gloom​

 

[Noah Gloom]

Noah carefully put his drink down on the table as he warmly accepted Daiya hug. He smiled down at her "Not so amazing, even us doctors need some time off. Especially since a little birdy slipped a note about this place under my door." He gave her a careful eye. "So drinking hey, what the occasion then? If not for a business deal then perhaps for something more fun and relaxing." He carefully sat down with his drink taking a sip. It was strong but he needed that besides his force abilities and natural toxin resistance took some of the dangerous edge off the beer.

He nodded to the other woman. "Rhé a pleasure to meet you. I can certainly drink to new friends." He took another sip. There we go now it's really hitting my system, that feels good. He thought to himself. He looked to the woman who was clearly saying something, "Ah alcohol on developing brains in young adults, well now that is a subject. One that I know nothing about, I ain't no fancy stinking corpo doctor." He said with a smile proudly,

"I used to work in a prison as an inmate medico, then I got out joined the jedi learnt a bit about being a healer before I gave up as no one would take me as an apprentice. Probably my record as an inmate right? Anyways now I got a volunteer clinic on denon and a small medical ship to wander the rest of darkwire space when it can. Second hand equipment, heavily vetted staff, completely free and I still look after corpos who walk through my door when they are in need."

Darkwire Maestro

 

[Daiya]

"Good, good," No deals. The girl nodded to herself, letting the motion perpetuate itself until her whole body was gently moving to some unknown rhythm. This was good. She was happy to see both Rhé and Noah agreeing and getting along, the fight earlier had been too frightening. She had seen plenty of bar fights in her time, sure, but that didn't mean she had to like them. A surprise attack, in close quarters, among too many patrons who were non-combatants or allies. It made for a poor battlefield. No, getting along was much better inside the bar, the back alley was for the fights.

Rhé called her a friend, and Daiya's face scrunched up as she tried to process that. If she was Rhé's friend, then why did she still feel suspicious of the Corpo? That didn't make any sense. But that would mean that Rhé had been lying, and friends wouldn't do that to each other!

Daiya closed her eyes, putting a thumb and finger up to her forehead to stave off...whatever was plaguing her head. It didn't hurt, exactly, it just felt...off. The girl shut her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, the sensation was gone. The teen relaxed, slapping a grin on her face as she looked between her two new bar friends.

"There's no ocassion that I know of. We just happened along together, I dind't even know I would be seeing Rhé tonight, can you believe that?!" Daiya nodded to herself, the coincidence was pretty astounding to her. Out of a planet of billions, it was near impossible to simply happen into anyone else by chance. To happen upon one from the same planet, on a different world? Some would call it more than coincidence. The girl raised her glass as a toast, "I guess we're drinking to my Meltdown. I finally got onne, Noah!"

Had she ever told the doctor, or anyone really, of that particular quest?

Not that it really mattered, she had it now. The girl flashed a glare at the Beorni bartender, as if he would understand its context or meaning at all. The bear's large back was turned to her, but something inside Daiya knew that he understood. He won the first round, but she had won this one. And the last round was always the most important, too. That's when everyone either walked away, or never would again.

Daiya was feeling great with her chances this round. "Alcohols is a great thing on the brains of young adults!" This was known, it was just simple fact, really. "It letss us explore all those wonferdul things you grown ups keep to yourselves. Like these conversations, see? I would have never known that Doctor Noah once worked in a prison!"

She turned to the erstwhile doctor, "Maybe you can helppp get me out of one, someday. You knnow, when Rhé or her CorpSsec buddies throw me in." Daiya snickered as the thought came to her, and she added it in a blurt, "And probably for drinking alcohol as a developing adult, too!"

Darkwire Maestro Noah Gloom​

 

[Darkwire Maestro]

Of the Darkwire agents with whom she had spoken, she had found fundamental similarities between every one of them. They had talent and they had to make tough choices to get to where they were. But instead of trying to assimilate with the culture around them, they spurned the very culture they felt had betrayed them. They were the "unlucky" ones. Really, Rhé was not so different. She hadn't had the most peaceful upbringing. But she had a very specific set of skills and, for a time, she had to use every asset at her disposal to claw her way out.

But then, she had been discovered. She had been saved. Looking at Daiya and Noah, she wondered if things had been different, if they had been saved the way Rhé had, would they still choose the same side? If she hadn't been saved, would she feel the same way about the side she had chosen? She knew all the downsides to being a Corporate associate. But she had someone who depended on her. Sure, that wasn't why she had joined Sun initially. But it only took a few months before she lived and breathed for Zo'i. Even if she wasn't the girl's mother, she looked after the girl like a daughter. And, somehow, that made her feel a little more whole. Could Rhé work for Darkwire and still provide for Zo'i like she could working for Luminous Sun?

She didn't have an answer for that. All Rhé knew was that she would do everything she could to look after Zo'i and give the teen the life that Rhé had thrown away. As long as Sun let her, that was.

"That's very noble of you, Noah. I'll be sure to look into using your services should the need arise."

As Daiya kept stumbling through her words, Rhé was glad for the tolerance she had built up over the years. Two drinks in and she was having no trouble keeping her wits about her. She ordered a third and another for the teenager. "You needn't worry about me throwing you in jail. I don't have that power. Besides, we shared drinks, right?"

Daiya | Noah Gloom​

 

[Daiya]

It was like magic. Just as Daiya tipped back the last drops of her first drink, she spied a full glass on the table!

She frowned at first, leaning this way and that to examine the new arrival. The girl even looked at the empty cup in her hands, just to make sure it was still there. So she hadn't been seeing a vision after all. She really did have a second round of her drink in front of her.

"Was this you?" Daiya asked Rhé, her smile brightening as she realized what the woman had done. She almost giggled, a Corpo was being nice to her! It felt odd, a friendly Corpo, who wanted to be friends with her. Not the good kind of odd, like she felt when wearing a dress or when seeing Cassus. A sour sort of odd, like after drawing out a vision, and one that made her stomach wince a little.

The girl ignored her stomach, it was always doing stuff like that anyway.

"Wellll, I'm super glad you won't throw me in jail, Rhé." Daiya raised her new glass to the woman, and it sloshed a little as she did. Her face flipped quickly to an embarrassed look, and she sipped a little from the top of the drink. The alcohol barely even had a bite now, and all she tasted was the carbonated soap. Which, the girl supposed, was a helpful thing when talking about such dirty venues. "That would sssuck, you know? I had this friend once, but more like a friend's friend I guess, who came back from jjail. And she wasn't really herself anywhere —anymore. It was kiiind of like she was three herselves, really! Ha, can you imagine, three of meee?"

Daiya didn't know what she'd do if she had even two of herself, much less three. Probably throw a party, or something, with just herselves.

Her drink was disappearing a lot faster this time, and Daiya wondered why. Oh, it didn't really matter. Maybe another one would appear when she was done this time, too! The girl hummed idly to herself in between sips, swaying to a rhythm that didn't quite match the music playing in the bar. That didn't really matter either. All she needed was a good drink with a good friend.

That was Rhé, right?

"You're a good friend, you know that?" Daiya affirmed to Rhé, and raised a nearly-empty glass to the woman again. She kept doing that, and the glass kept getting less full. That was odd. But not as odd as the throbbing pulse behind her forehead, which she kept trying to ignore without much success. It could learn a thing or two from Rhé about how to be nice to her, really.

Daiya set the glass down and set her fingers on her forehead. She propped herself up on the table with an elbow, pivoting her head around fingers to look at Rhé some more. The teen grinned, and giggle a little. "It's okay, I know you're just pretending to like me. You're really good at it, though. Ever think about acting?"

"Think about it, if you become an actress, then maybe you won't have to be a Corpo anymore!" Daiya's arm was drooping now, putting her chin pretty close to the table. Or maybe the table had gotten close to her instead. That was awfully convenient of it. The girl laid her head down on its side, giving the table a pat for how nice it was being. "And then I could probably take you to the safe house where Zenie is. She'd like you when you're Corpo-less, Rhé. Everyone would, really. Less Corpos would be a-mazing, trust me, then there'd only be Tawrro telling me what to do."

"He probably wouldn't like you, though, so be careful. He knows when people are prefriending and being..."

Daiya closed her eyes without finishing. The table was a pretty comfy spot to rest her head, now that she was trying it out. Whatever the girl was saying probably didn't matter anyway.

It wasn't like the girl was going to remember much of this tomorrow, anyway.

Darkwire Maestro​