Faction Tropical Heat Wave [OPA and Friends]

[Eldin Daine]

"This hunt of yours, in the direction of this abandoned temple?", seems like there was other options to fill in the day apart from a swim. "Might come with ya and the kid".

The Rodian was already on board, so he looked toward Maokai Bantam to see if he was interested in something other than drinking. "What 'bout it, Deputy?". I mean, they were on holidays he did not have to come if he preferred to stay and lazy away the day.
But the idea of poking around an old temple ruin might just turn up more than one bargains for. Christine Dellard excused herself, Eldin tossed her a smile before she wandered over to the kid, how seemed to turn into a Zeltron by the pink flush on his cheeks, only a hint of it, but the young lad clearly had the hots for the girl. She is pretty and well built so it was very understandable.

But his attention went back to Cei Kyros, "So ya can add another one or two to your party". There was also that familiar inkling still tingling at Eldin's brain. He got off his bar stool and put his hands under his loose white shirt, pulled out his two blaster pistols and placed one on the bar while he checked the other. Locked and loaded and ready to go. Although he was not dressed for hunting, or temple raiding, he did not expect trouble just fun.

His deep blue eyes flicked up from his hands work ot Cei once more, "Ya know, I have seen ya before ya face is very familiar to me. Ya wanna jog my memory?". Once Eldin was satisfied his pistol were set he pulled up his shirt and placed them both back in their holster on his hip.

Finley | Amkoo Spujitso

 

[Christine Dellard]

Boy, was he nervous! It became even more obvious when he asked for her name in a rather odd fashion. Chris silently pondered about his age and estimated it to be around her own age, maybe even a few years younger. She knew a Cassanova when she met one. A modest one in this case, telling from the way he put his crossways with Cei Kyros as being to thank for that he was able to talk to her now. It got her to laugh slightly inside, not of ill intent though, as she took another sip of the beer and casually rested her arms on and leant on the counter. A light chuckle escaped her before she gave him a side-eye.

''Of course it would! It's Christine, but friends call me Chris, so... That'll work!'' she said good-humoured, and offered him a soft friendly smile with a knowing hint to it. Indirectly, she left him with an answer that said she considered him a friend. Well, she considered all OPA folks as friend on that level.

''Nice to meet you, Finn!'' she followed shortly after, turning a bit more serious and turned more towards him on the bar stool. She offered him a hand to shake. For a woman, it would be a firm steady handshake. One of honesty and trust, even though she could not realy let go of that knowing and slightly sassy smirk just yet. The guys behaviour simply asked for it and sparked her on.

''You think?'' she uttered, as another chuckle left her and she dug up a deep red plektrum from one of her pockets and flashed it. ''Well, he's named after this... Another thing that I rarely go without.'' she continued and put the plektrum back in the pocket.

''I was a- Well, I still am a guitarist but it's more of a fun and relaxing hobby right now... Besides my commitment as a Judge with the OPA. My and Pleck's commitment.''

Chris threw a glance at Pleck and Maokai Bantam making acquaintances, which would work fairly well. If Chris was comfortable and enjoying herself, he would most often feel it and do the same. She met Finn's gaze again and began a slow and contemplating turn back and forth on the bar stool.

''Nice place, ain't it? Eldin know where to throw a beach party, alright...'' she begun and took a look around in general, before her green gaze fell upon Finn again. Now was time for a little pry for the real reason why they were here. They both had been acting slightly strange and was not realy dressed for a beach party either. The hunting proposed by Cei gave one reason but somehow she had her doubts and was of course curious to find out if she was right or not. ''We sure are worth some R&R once in a while... Don't you think? You've been working together with Eldin before?'' she continued and took another drink of the beer that was just about to run out.

Finley Amkoo Spujitso Eldin Daine

 

[Finley]

He couldn’t help but to smile back sincerely when they shook hands, her own smile and energy just feeding into his own, but it was met and abruptly halted as she continued her conversation.

Finn listened to Christine as she spoke about what she has done, likes to do and is currently. So his pretty beach angel was a Judge, and he s scoundrel ~ leave it to him to like someone better than he was, Like oil and water. He let out a sigh, as the bartender began to fill his shot glass again, his right hand came up “ I think I’ve had enough for now, just give me a glass of water.” He looked at Christine Dellard , apologetically as he met her gaze and listened to her finish speaking. Sweat lingered across his brow as he stood up slightly, removing his jacket, and his long sleeved shirt to reveal a solitary white tank top. Finn was, athletically built, but across his upper back remained gnarled scars from past occurrences, and down his left forearm was a wrap that covered the length of it, just as the shirt and jacket had done before. What was under it?

He looked ahead as he contemplated on how to answer her question, his mind drifting. “I suppose your right....” He had never been one to be cruel, or some dark lowlife thug, but sitting next to her, whatever her background may have been was he just felt bad about himself now, his lifestyle of always on the run or just doing what he had to do to get food or get by, what would she think of him then? He looked back towards her, his hazel eyes meeting her emerald gaze, his demeanor slightly conflicted. To admit anything, when he knew he was not apart of this affiliation would mean betraying the man who taught him and gave him a chance, and Finn was one thing to a fault and it was loyal, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but to trust this woman he’d just met, probably because he had allowed himself to become infatuated with her, he didn’t want to lie about why they had actually come here, and hell maybe she could help take the heat off of them from the hutts, he didn’t want to see anyone here hurt. He motioned for the bar tender to refill the ladies beverage as he stood up, point over towards a secluded spot outside near the beach line. “How about we finish our talk outside out of earshot of others?” Finn hunting to Christine if she wanted answers, it’d have to be a A and B conversation.

Cei Kyros Eldin Daine Maokai Bantam​

 

[Christine Dellard]

He seemed to become affected by her confidence and reach another level of comfort in the conversation, that nervousness was effectively pushed away. Even if she thought it was kind of cute and a bit funny playing it along with him, it was a good thing!

Chris stayed quietly seated on the chair as the guy stood up and seemingly started to strip(!) his tops off, beginning with that actually pretty nice looking jacket. While he did this, she emptied the beer and raised a small eyebrow at the rather unexpected spectacle. Instinctively, her green confident yet pondering gaze were left upon him as the shirt came off and he revealed a well trimmed body under a tank top. Slowly setting the empty beer bottle down on the counter without taking the eyes off him, she was served another one and guessed the wrapped forearm was an injury from a recent fight or something.

How? Just how could this guy so suddenly turn from a shy blushing teenager, to a man seemingly trying to impress her with... Well, with that!

She found herself having rested her eyes for maybe a bit too long on the guy. Not that she blushed about it, but it could send the wrong vibes. She turned facing the bartender and gave him a nod and smile of appreciation for the other beer, before she grabbed it and stood up.

''Tss, sure! Why not?'' she said with a short chuckle, and took a sip of the fresh crisp beer. Pleck would throw an eye her way but felt content and secure where he was, being given free food by a zeltron. He would keep an eye on where she was though, as well as he knew she would do the same to him.

Finley Maokai Bantam

 

[Finley]

Finn took a seat in the sand as he began to unwrap his left forearm, and as light hit it, they would be seen. Four separate brands, with three “x”ed out and the final one with a singular like crossed through it. He removed his tank top, not doing so to draw that sort of attention to himself from her, but to show the mangled and scarred flesh on his back from what appeared to be countless whippings. He smirked as he looked over the crashing waves., his hand patting the ground next to him, inviting Christine Dellard to sit as he began to speak. “It’d be easy to lie, and stupid to do with a Judge I imagine. It is however hard to be genuine and vulnerable. Can I be vulnerable with you?... or like so others will you leave a scar?” He inhaled, taking in the scenery around him and just enjoying being for a moment, not running, not hiding, being intimate with someone on a different level, he looked at her. “When I was young, I was nothing more than a piece of meat to be sold, used and beaten by the crime syndicates of my planet. Jedi, Enforcers, Judges alike ~ I would look at them, and they would look back; in there eyes I was nothing more than some delinquent and useless kid that was better off not existing. I looked up to them, pretended ~ wanted to be them... but they never helped. I hated them.” He spoke with a deep seated contempt that would be felt said almost seemingly directed at her, but it wasn’t. He inhaled deeply as he pointed to the cargo ship that was a ways away from the party, inwardly groaning ~ Cei, I’m sorry buddy ~ I hope my gut feeling is right about her. He spoke, eyes never leaving hers. “I don’t feel like I’m a waste of life or different when I see you look at me. Thank you.” He paused again. “ I’m a smuggler, there is no hunting party. I’m not technically or remotely affiliated with the OPA. This should have been a quick drop and swap” Frustration, and a slight hint of anxiety in his voice, much like Cei Kyros earlier. “ This party complicated things — you, complicated things.” Saying so, not in a rude manner, but the hint of his infatuation being evident.

He leaned back as he groaned, looking straight into the clear skies as he grabbed his tank top. “Like I said, it would be easy to lie, but I don’t want to do that to you.” He chuckled... All it took was that smile to do me in, what a smuggler you are. Truth be told, he didn’t expect to run into such a vibrant person that Christine seemed to be, a genuine person, a good person or the others; they were all nice people... nothing like he remembered from his youth, these were not the same people that didn’t help, they felt different. He let out a sigh. “The Hutts are our contact, if they show up, with... guests around, there will be issues, no talk ~ a lot of blasting first, I don’t want any of y’all to get hurt —“ He paused “ I — don’t want you to get hurt.” Not implying that she couldn’t take care of herself, but he spoke, full disclosure the situation. He sat back up, putting his tank top back on, sand across his back felt against the fabric as he moved his hair slightly out of his field of vision. ”Now you know, your move, Chris.”

Eldin Daine Maokai Bantam Amkoo Spujitso ​

 

[Maokai Bantam]

"Sure, sounds like fun Sir," Mako replied to Eldin Daine before turning his attention back to Peck.

Mako was out of direct ear shot of the conversation between Finley Christine Dellard , he instead intently fed and played with the pup while his master was taking walk with her new friend. Taking a seat back at the bar he finished his last remaining beers and ordered another, his buzz was well engaged and he was intent on keeping it in good standing for the rest of the day.

As the others made small talk, Mako grabbed a menu off the bar looking for something different.

"Hey bartender, what the feth is feeder meat?"

 

[Cei Kyros]

"Oh yeah us and the OPA go way back!" Kyros said at the same time Finley told Christine Dellard they were new, "That is, I've been around. The kid is new. That's probably where you know me!"

He grinned nervously at Eldin Daine . More likely it was from some bounty poster on the duros for his illicit activities. Captain Kyros was slowly starting to piece together where they were and he didn't like it one bit.

"So you're JUDGES huh?" he asked Maokai Bantam stressing the word for Finn's benefit, "I've heard of them. OPA lawman huh? Good thing we're just a couple of upstanding-"

“I’m a smuggler, there is no hunting party. I’m not technically or remotely affiliated with the OPA. This should have been a quick drop and swap”

Cei looked crestfallen.

"Kid, we gotta work on your smooth talk."

He glanced back and forth between the Judges, mind on the DG-29 holstered at his hip. Kyros was one of the quickest draws in the Western Reaches. He was pretty he could get the drop on one Judge. Two were pushing it, but three? Not a chance. Not even for him. And then of course there was Amkoo Spujitso to worry about.

"Alright Finn. Have it your way," the duros shook his head, "Time to come clean. We're on a secret mission for the Silver Jedi to secure a cache of kyber crystals left behind in the old temple. Our contact with the Hutts can get them to Kashyyyk where they'll do some good. Dank ferrik kid now we've put everyone in danger!"

 

[Christine Dellard]

From the moment he summoned her to come with him, she understood something was going to be unraveled. Her gut feeling for when something was out of place rarely had her wrong. She had learned it from the music business and it continued to serve her well as a Judge, investigating dark and unjust deeds in the Outer Rim.

Glancing down at his old wounds from the side of and behind him, the beer she held in her hand did not taste that well any longer. A mix of both slight suspicion and sadness spread across her face, as she begun to think and feel for the guy. He wanted to tell her something by straight up showing her a scar from the past. Following his invite, she sat down beside him, wrapped her arms around her knees and let him begin to tell his story. She listened in silence, resting a side gaze upon the guy and analyzing what he said. Hes initial shyness against her reappeared in a form of vulnerability.

He said he hated them, the ones that according to him had not intervened when he wanted and needed it. Chris broke their gaze and out to the sea, she could not help but to feel that at least a small amount of blame was put on her and her comrades. A sigh of discomfort left her, and a warm sea breeze swept around some strands of her blonde hair before she took another sip of the beer. She almost wanted to leave but his next words got her to stay and glance back at him.

''I don't leave scars on good people.'' she said seriously, cementing in a very simple way how she looked at it. This boy wasn't bad, but young. Young and assertive with a soft side that shine through it all.

A hint of a smirk appeared on her lips as he finished telling her about the hutts. She looked out to the sea again, and then back at him.

''How considerate of you, Finn... However, I don't get hurt that easily, either...'' she said in a lower voice and took another sip of the beer, her smirk growing bigger on her.

''Don't worry. I won't arrest you for being considerate, and telling me those things.'' she made a short pause. ''Y'know, I'm sorry if you've felt that way towards us. I can't speak for the ones you met when you were a kid, but I can tell you that these ones...'' she continued and motioned backwards towards Eldin, Maokai and the others. ''These ones are good people.''

Finley Eldin Daine Maokai Bantam Amkoo Spujitso Cei Kyros

 

[Eldin Daine]

Well, this conversation went in a right angle very fast. Although Eldin had not hear all of what the young kid said, he got the important bits. He stood from his bar stool, moving in the clear away from the main bar and anyone that might get hurt if things turned even more on its head. Smugglers, it depended on what they were smuggling if they were to get into trouble with the law.

This Cei Kyros had been caught out in his own lies, dropped in the poodoo by his own side kick and all because of a pretty face, a flick of a grin pulled at the corner of his lips. Anything that Cei was to say after this had no credibility as far as Eldin was concerned. Kyber crystal, Silver Jedi and Hutts did not equate, the Silvers would not hire such people as smugglers, from what he knew of them, they would prefer to do their own ‘hunting’. And even if that side of the story held some truth, they most certainly would not deal with Hutts.

If there was some kind of a mission to gain the crystals from the Hutts in OPA space, they would have informed the high ups and made the ‘dealings’ more official. Yes, this story smelled to high heaven.

“If this is a routine drop and swap, why would there be blaster fire in that case?”, his hands sitting on both hips right near his guns.

“Seems to me this is good luck that ya happen to run into us Judges from OPA, after all if there is a ‘drop and swap’ on behalf of the Silver Jedi, I am certain they would appreciate all the help they can get”. Full grin, playing along with all this plot twisting.

“Ya know, keep it all above board. We don’t want those crystals going missing do we”. By now he had moved over to Cei, put his arm around him like an old pal and pattered his shoulder. “Might need to call in for back up, what do ya say partner?”. He looked Cei in the eyes, not a hint of friendly meaning behind his eyes.

Finley | Christine Dellard | Maokai Bantam | Amkoo Spujitso

 

[Finley]

Finn stood up as he overheard Cei confirm what was going on... with his own particular flair. He began to shift, his hand wrapping up his forearm as he stood to his feet, looking over towards Christine as his hand extended to help her up. “ I appreciate the grace - but now I feel I’ve opened up a can that won’t close.” Finn chuckled nervously as he awaited her to stand. “ I suppose your right, that is — you all seem to be different, and I ‘would’ like the opportunity to get to know the difference.” Now that was definitely a pass - subtle, but one none the less.



He hollered over towards Cei Kyros apologetically as he let his head hang. “I’m sorry Cei - but if they are who you say they are - maybe they can help.” Knowing full well his new Captain wasn’t exactly too happy with hik, the whole time still standing next to Christine Dellard still as he looked in the direction of Eldin Daine . “ I’m sorry for the deceit - but please, all I want is a peaceful solution, as I’m sure Cei does... one that doesn’t land us in hot water, and one that doesn’t involve us or anyone else dead.” His eyes shifting over to the other judge Mokai, awaiting their response.