The Room Where It Happens

[Arage Bao]

COALITION SPACE​

[member="Rian Taske"]​

​

There was no such thing as a contact worth keeping.

You met, played, discarded and got gone. By the best intentions it happened all on the same day. Then, obscurity. It was the way the job worked. A face that was worth keeping, was a face you had to shred as fast as possible. That was the best of circumstances. This ain't that. Her best source of revenue had been the Galactic Alliance, from Coruscant to Terminus.

Paid their chit, didn't ask you to torture kids, weren't trying to hook you for the long-run.

You said contractor and that was what they expected.

Then they had to go. Get themselves slaughtered by the Empire, a large galactic nation shattered into fragments of fragments. The Order to the North slowly burning their way down. The Empire, Mandalorians to the east swallowing everything else in their wake. Oh, you had the Silvers, but they had always been content just hanging in their own little garden.

They had never been true players.

You got the Confederacy... but something about them made Ari's skin crawl. Freedom and liberty. Yeah, right. All that was left were the corporate interests. At least if you wanted to actually get paid. That was the only reason Ari answered that call. They hadn't seen each other in months, nah, probably closer to a year. That was par for course. In truth Ari was impressed they had managed to keep together for as long as they had. As always... it had slowly decayed. Crumbled. The weekly sessions turning to monthlies. Then one canceled, then the other, and then slowly it just evaporated. Flannigan hadn't truly minded. Maybe a little shriveled part wondering why it always had to be like this.

That wonder didn't turn into true introspection. Either way- she had come, because there was a job here. Might as well hit two stones at the same time, no? Because avoidance would suggest care.

It had just been a few fun moments, so might as well check in and see what's the what, no?

Ari stepped into the bar. Nothing much had changed there. The trail of smoke followed her in. A white jacket wrapped around her shoulders. No stain on it, that was the true courage.

Eyes briefly scanned the surroundings.

Early? Maybe. She decided to settle at the bar for now. Rian would notice her. When Ari wanted to, she was difficult not to notice.

 

[Rian Taske]

There was no such thing as a contact worth discarding.

You met people, and maybe, just maybe, there would be a time when you got a chance to meet again or help each other out. A life was built on connections just like that. A face worth keeping was one that, no matter how hard times got, you eventually reached back out to.

She would have said they'd become friends. Not close, no. But someone whose company you enjoyed and sought out was a friend, right? Time, distance, didn't negate that or change it. Just altered it a little. Rian had never intended time to get away from her the way it did, but that was the reality of her life. There was always some place she and her squad were needed. Simple fact.

And the fact that they were gone now?

Hadn't changed the need.

If anything, the need had only grown.

The tension hadn't ended at Skor, with the defeat of the First Order. Instead it had simmered beneath the surface. As waiting. As fear. Always keeping an eye on the shared borders. It was quiet for now, but the quiet before a storm. It was only a matter of time.

Rian hadn't been at Skor. She hadn't been much of anywhere for months. It had taken time to recover, both physically and psychologically enough to go back out there. For a time, she had figured she'd just be done with it. Call it quits. After Dagobah, she'd had no intentions of getting back into the thick of things. But the galaxy didn't simply find peace because one person was tired of war.

She realized that it was a mistake, to set the meet up here, the moment she stepped into the room. It had made sense at the time, to have Ari meet her at the bar they both knew. But the sight, the smell, the sound of the scratchy juke box that skipped every seventh note.... She should have had them meet anywhere but the bar she and her squad had called their favorite hang out. Too many memories. Too much regret.

Her step hitched in the doorway, and if she hadn't spotted Ari almost immediately, she would have turned around right there and waited outside. Shifted the meeting elsewhere. Ari, early? Of course, the one time she would be. With a deep breath through her nose, huffed back out again quickly, she rolled her shoulders and stepped inside. The bartender looked up, a flicker of surprise across his face, and then, a slow nod.

She hadn't been there for months.

Her squad would never be there again.

Rian hopped up onto the stool beside Ari, signaling for a round there. It was one of the ways she's lured her there at all, according to Ari in their messages. The promise of the first round, as always.

"Find the place okay?" Rian joked, but the smile never reached her eyes. The scars and the dead grey of the right eye were new since they'd seen each other last. Impossible not to notice, but easy to ignore if one were so inclined. Rian hoped Ari was.

[member="Ari Flannigan"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rian Taske"]

"Nah, had to walk around the district six times, before I found it. You'd think they'd at least get a neon sign, eh?"

That last part towards the barkeep. Who just snorted and kept pouring drinks. Busy night, busier than the first time they had met here, so it looked like business was going well for him at least. That didn't surprise Ari all that much. With the First Order just around the border? She bet everyone was just chomping at the bit to get a drink.

Or six.

Ari shifted, one elbow leaning lightly against the counter and taking Rian in.

There was not even a blink. Just a light brush of the eyes, studying it briefly, then a looooooow whistle. "Dang, gurl, somebody really did a number on you." A smirk there. "Let me guess- should see the other guy?"

Around that time the beer came 'round and her attention slipped for a moment. Back to the glass, pulling it in. The smirk played deeper as the weight of the glass filled her hand. "Y'know, I am into scars. Gives character." Sly look and then a wink. "Thanks for the drink. How you been holding up?"

It didn't really occur to her that Rian could feel feels about the scarring.

She was a medic after all. That sort of shit was probably a daily thing for her. No real sense in being a baby about it, right? Besides... it did make her kinda look hot.

Dangerous.

 

[Rian Taske]

"Remind me never to ask you for directions then," Rian snorted herself.

Nope, she wasn't going to ignore it.

Rian grimaced. The right side of her face pulled slightly, the scars still not entirely healed, still pink and raw in spots. Should have by now, but bacta had been dear all over the Galaxy since the Empire had burned Thyferra, and sometimes you just did what you had to do.

Sometimes, that meant going the long way around. Time healed all wounds. Just some slower than others.

The joke was of course that she could have afforded it now. But there was something that felt wrong, using that money to undo that moment. Rian tried not to think about it.

"Wouldn't know, never saw who did it," she said, eyes casting away, ostensibly because the drinks arrived. Hand curling around the glass and bringing it up for a long, slow swallow. She didn't drink much, or often these days. It had always been more of a social thing, and well....

A small, short bark of laughter.

"Ari you're into a lot of things, so that doesn't surprise me," but she smiled. Ari was a flirt- well. A selective flirt but she'd always flirted with her. In some ways there was something almost comforting about that. That, at least, hadn't changed.

Rian didn't give a chit how it looked.

Rian didn't feel a way about the physical aspect of the scar. No mistake, there were all sorts of things wrapped up in the side effects of that- the loss of her sight in that eye, the difficulty hearing from that side. She'd sat herself so that her left side was angled at Ari for just that reason, and she definitely felt WAYS about all of that. The scar itself though?

It was what it represented that made it harder to handle.

"Things have been a particular sort of hell since the Alliance fell to be honest," she said, frowning. Understatement. Eyes cast down at the beer in her hands. "Been mostly out of commission. But something is coming down the pipe. That's why I called you, actually."

A pause.

"I want to hire you."

[member="Ari Flannigan"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rian Taske"]

She smiled at the laughter and took a deep gulp to celebrate.

Whatever time had passed, Ari still got a kick out of inviting out that bark of her. Rian had made it clear all that time ago there would never be anything there. That was fine. She had also said she didn't mind the passes. That was more than fine. A second gulp punctuated that obvious statement of Rian's.

"Forkin' a- been hell." Ari agreed with a grunt, before swiveling on her chair. Putting her back against the counter. There was a better view of the bar now.

The smoke curling tight in the air.

Some pairs dancing on the floor in the corner. All the tables busy. Holo-screens were on, most of them peeling their eyes at one game or another. Boxing. Now that was something Ari could get behind. "Alliance was my best client, y'know. Ain't saying they offered the best money, but they were the least fethers about it."

For the most part Ari kept quiet about her clients.

Privacy and all that good stuff. But the Alliance was dead, and buried. Didn't fething matter now. Did it?

The second part though? That made Ari bark out a laugh. She actually wheezed there. Maybe, just maybe, if she had known the entire history behind it she wouldn't. Maybe. Sadly she didn't. No context nor facts giving her insight. "Hun, ya can barely afford buying me drinks all night, how ya propose you gonna hire me?"

The sheer difference in money had never been much of a problem.

Ari didn't do it for the- okay, so she did do it for the money. Just not in that way. It wasn't the money that mattered. It was the rep, it was getting exactly what you were worth.

Take less? Your stock breaks.

"Besides, you got a whole crew backing you up, whatcha need me for?" A lazy stretch, before she took another sip and glanced on over to her in confusion. "Surprised they ain't hanging around here. Did Pretty Smile Johnny get his teeth kicked out again?"

Amused expression there.

 

[Rian Taske]

When Ari turned to survey the room, Rian went fishing in her pocket.

She didn't look up as Ari laughed. Didn't smile either.
"Can buy you drinks all night this time if you wanna, but fortunately for me you usually stop at two anyway."

Leaning her forearms on the bar, she tapped a cigarette out of a battered carton. Every time before she'd hidden the addiction from her squad- couldn't tell them not to smoke if she was. Do as I say, not as I do hadn't been the sort of thing that would ever fly with them. So she and Ari had snuck a quick one outside, around the corner of the building most times. She'd hidden them then in a slim silver case. Now though....

Would she have if it hadn't been lost with everything else? Didn't seem worth worry about.

She lit the cigarette right as Ari glanced over again.

Rian didn't answer right away. The seconds ticked by as she took a long drag off of the cigarette. Maybe Ari figured it out in that stretch of time. Maybe she didn't. Either way.

"Unless you are more expensive than I thought, I can afford you, Ari." A pause, voice dropping, still not looking at her.

"Half of them didn't have someone else listed as next of kin. Money I've got. That's about all I do right now."

[member="Ari Flannigan"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rian Taske"]

She didn't get it immediately.

Glance to her side. Frown at the cigarette, then the words, it still took a moment to process. It wasn't that Ari was dim. Just that... this was usually chit that happened to other people. Didn't get close to anyone. It was an odd feeling. To feel. Ari had always liked people- sentients of all shapes and features. They were just fascinating. But there were always more of 'em around the corner. Why hook yourself into specific ones and limit your experience like that?

"Oh." A beat. "Huh, that sucks. Ah- that's the job, innit? On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." She stretched once more. "Soon enough we will join 'em, jus' gotta take it one day at a time."

In that moment it crystallized.

Ari had been a guest to them. A wind flowing in, taking up the room she was comfortable in, then leaving next. She had laughed, drunk, enjoyed herself. Enjoyed their company. But in the end she hadn't imprinted. She had shared a kiss with Johnny. Had beaten the crap out of a guy who had harassed Krissen.

Made out with her too.

Across the months she had gotten to know them... but it had been superficial.

It hadn't been Ari who had to go down the street. Meet with Lec's ol' mom who was all alone now. She wouldn't ever know about Johnny's on-and-off again boyfriend, crying himself to sleep the past months and joining the drink.

Truth to be told? It would have glided right off of her. That was the difference between family and business.

You didn't get hung up on that sort of chit.

"Anyway, money ya have-" Apparently Ari didn't give a chit where it came from. Even if there was a glint there. For a moment. "-but ya know me, Ri-ri. I don't do military chit. Don't salute, don't join the ranks, that stuff ain't for me, ya dig?" All that national pride an' stuff got in the way of business.

It inspired feelings that Ari didn't want to have.

"Am sure the Coalition can find themselves other loyal troopers."

 

[Rian Taske]

"Yup," she said, tone flat. "That's the job."

Rian wasn't a stranger to death. She'd lost count of the people who had died under her hands in the field, from wounds and injuries simply too great to do anything for in the situation. She'd had folks, squad mates turned family, die bleeding in her arms. It never got easier. But you went into this knowing what you were getting into. It never got EASY. But it could be accepted. All of them changed you. Couldn't help that it did. Sometimes too little to see from the outside, but it was there. A thumb print on a wall of names sometimes was all. Sometimes it was a face left. Time would fade it, blur it around the edges. Never gone, never forgotten. But bearable.

This had been different.

This one had changed her.

Mind skittered away from the moment. Had to. Easier. There were times she couldn't do that- where the moment came back, flooding up to drown her like the mud on Dagobah. But this time she managed, drawing the cigarette up to take a long drag and ground. Hadn't smoked on Dagobah. Not one. She'd been serious about quitting that time. Helped the banish it, stuff like that. Send it scurrying until later. She knew she'd have to handle it better in the long run, but sometimes you did what you had to do now.

"Good," she said, tapping the ash off into the tray and glancing over at Ari. "Don't want you to."

Turning to face the other woman again, she leaned on the bar with an elbow.

"I want someone who's capable and I don't have to worry about. I want someone who's going to watch my back but not buy into the situation. I don't want a team player, Ari. I want someone who, when the chit hits the fan, will get their ass outta there. Yeah it'd be good if ya got me out too, but I'm not paying you *that* much."

There wasn't a trace of joking on her face. Rian was deadly serious.

We can't leave them. We have to go back-​

Deep drag on her cigarette.

[member="Ari Flannigan"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rian Taske"]

"Gimme dat."

Deft fingers plucked the cigarette cleanly out of her fingers. There she took a deep drag herself, eyes closing for a bit, letting the words marinate and the smoke accumulate within. Before blowing it out again. A sigh, before passing it back to her. All of it done within the span of three breaths and with no hesitation.

"Ya lost a bunch'a folks and now you want to turn the wheel." Ari murmured after a while. Fingers curled absently around the glass, pulling it in and taking a good gulp there too.

"I don't play well with others, Ria-" A shrug there. "Never did. Ain't about giving a chit if they survive or nah, about dynamics." A glance towards her.

"Dynamics getcha killed, if they don't work out."

The money kept it enticing though. Rian was a nice hang, which was beneficial too. Never a bad thing when you didn't want to kill the person you were working alongside with. "You are Coalition, that's nice an' all, but keeping yaself tethered too tight to one nation gonna get ya killed too."

A lazy finger pointed at her from the side.

Then she stopped, expression thoughtful for a moment, before a smile started creeping up.

"You got anything to do tonight?"

 

[Rian Taske]

There was no protest, the cigarette coming easily from her hand, and accepting it back a moment later. Between those breaths, taking a long drink and eyeing the level of beer left in the glass.

"Look, swing with me for a job, if you don't like it, don't stay. Simple. I'm not asking you to sign on for a year. Not asking you to go yehaw for the Coalition. Can take it job to job, pick what you want, leave what you don't."

She took another drag, finishing off the cigarette and grinding it into the ash tray.

"Or don't." She shrugged. "Whichever. That's fine too."

She was casual on the surface, but it masked pain. Not that Ari would turn her down. If she did it really would be okay. As it stood, Rian knew that reaching out here first was part of the problem. Part of the same problem anyway. Yeah they weren't close, but she liked her. She rationalized it by saying this was a stepping stone down. Into that place someone like Ari clearly occupied. Baby steps, instead of just hiring a total stranger with no familiarity at all.

Truth was Rian wasn't used to running without people around her that mattered. At least in some way.

It wasn't a step down, it was a crutch, and on some level she knew that. In a way it'd be better if Ari said no here. Force that next step.

At the last part, Rian blinked, a small frown.

"Honestly? I'm considering getting absolutely wasted. Why?"

[member="Ari Flannigan"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rian Taske"]

She flopped off the chair and stretched there even more.

A lazy stretch, bones cracking under the pressure, before she exhaled.

"Funny, was gonna suggest the same just now." A glance over her shoulder. "You? Wasted?" Snorting there. "Ya can get karking demolished any time of the night, let's go." Already pulling on her coat again, that had been hanging around her waist to ease the heat of the bar. "I got a job that needs doing tonight. You can follow along, we can see if this partnership would lead us anywhere." A glance over to the bar. "You can pick up a bottle of Jack tho, won't be a crazy op I dun' think."

Easy crap, honestly.

Ari could probably do it in her sleep, arms twisted and all that noise.

It was the only reason why she invited Rian in the first place. If it had been something actually karked up? Nah. But blowing some chit up, killing a few heads, there was nothing taxing about that. The bottle would presumably make it less boring too.

Honestly, the most she hoped right now was that Ri wouldn't be a lil' chit about it. The last thing she needed right now was trying to convince her.

 

[Rian Taske]

"Gonna suggest the..... wait what?"

She thought at first she meant getting drunk but then realized it was something else. Took a moment to parse.

"Look I'm offering to pay you to run with me. Not gonna pay you to.... run with you."

Vaguely bewildered.

"Girl I'm not asking you to pay me this round."

"Okay then what are you- hey wait."

Still more confused than anything else, Rian hoped down off of the barstool. She paused, rifling through her pocket for a credit stick and leaving it on the bar to cover the pair of beers, then hurrying to catch up to Ari, who was already halfway to the door. It didn't help that her legs were half the length and she had to take two steps to every one of hers just to keep up once she got there.

"You have a job, here- tonight?" It finally clicked though the tone was still incredulous. "Getting drunk before sounds like a hell of a way to end up dead Ari."

[member="Ari Flannigan"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rian Taske"]

She did wait once she was outside.

Or... well, really, she took out a cigarette and lit it up, but that was basically the same thing here.

Probably.

A long pull at the cigarette, then a glance to her side when Rian caught up. "Course I do, you think the travel here was free for me?" Girl's gotta work. Back when the Alliance was still alive? Well, expenses were taken care of, as a favorite contractor. That stuff was tight now. Very tight. You needed to strategize stuff a little bit. It was frustrating... and honestly a little bit embarrassing, but it is what it is. Ari wasn't really the type of person to whine and moan about the realities of the moment.

A stretch, before she offered another cigarette to Rian.

"Eh, it's a walk in the park, I could do this in my sleep with my hands tied, but I figure two people should be more amusing than one."

That's when she realized there was no Jack bottle. "Oh, or we do it sober, that's fine too." She had been curious how that would have worked out. Another puff and then she set off into a new direction. Down the streets into the alleys.