Two Twi'lek's Walk Into A Cantina (PM For Invite)

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[member="Tacitanya"]

Nar Shaddaa. The Smugglers Moon. The filth of the galaxy congregated all over this wasteland of a moon. Sera hated this place, it reminded her of nothing but death and crime. Between the murders in the middle of the day on the streets, to the corruption in every crevice of politics imaginable. This planet had caused the death of her first master, which only served to exponentially raised her distaste with this planet.

Still, she was here because she had to be. She was looking for her brother Rykev. She'd heard he had been here recently, and she was determined to find out where he had gone. She wanted answers. Why had he deserted his family? Why had he never come home? Why? How? What? These were questions that would eat away at her until she lost her sanity.

She stepped into one of the cantina's to sit and have a drink, having been on the moon for three days now and not a single trace to be found. Her lightsabers was well hidden, she was not interested in finding trouble if she could avoid it, and Jedi were anything but welcome around here.

 

[Beowoof]

Taci had returned to her homeworld--trashy place that it was--in order to pursue justice in a part of the galaxy that was as devoid of such a concept as any place ever was. She knew it was a lost cause, but after a few days of hunting down some rather dirty criminals, her attitude sank even further. Just walking through the effects of these people and seeing how hopeless this galaxy could be brought a grim shadow over her more-or-less optimistic view of things.

She had gone down to visit her old home--the boiler room she had converted into some sort of 'studio apartment' lined with scraps and personal art projects. The door seemed to have been untampered with, the lock still fastened tightly. The former street rat's collections of parts and paintings were still the way she had left them, albeit a bit more dusty. She stayed the night in her place, then awoke and took some of the canvases and stuffed them into her luggage case, intending to sell her old works on another journey.

To be completely honest, Tacitanya hated bars and avoided them like the plague when possible. They were too noisy and she had had a bad experience outside one of these horrid establishments when she was a little girl. But today she was just going to settle for whatever was quick and unstressful as far as ordering food was concerned, and then she would be heading off to the spaceport to find somewhere less depressing for her to work as a 'ranger'.

Not willing to stay for much longer than was required for her to consume her dinner, Taci made sure to hide her lightsaber but clearly show her pistol as she walked into the cantina. She passed by a fellow tyrian--admittedly, she liked seeing someone akin to herself, even if only in race and color--but had learned quickly in her younger days to not trust many people on this moon. "Hello," was all she spoke as she brushed by, looking for a gap between the crowds of patrons.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The music...The music in this place is insulting to the senses. The dancers...Where did they learn? They'll hire anyone to work here I suppose.

Sera looked away and scanned the crowd, most of which she had no interest in, aside from guessing which ones were small time criminals, compared to the crime lords. Turning back as her food was placed in front of her, she smiled to the server and thanked him. Under other circumstances she would typically look around for someone to converse with while she ate if she were alone, however things on this moon were different. Almost nobody was friendly, and you never really knew who was going to try and rob you on your way out.

Hearing a voice as it passed by she turned in the direction the sound was moving. Another Twi'lek, not very surprising, but a tyrian was a rarity. Probably the most surprising of all was that a total stranger even bothered to offer a greeting in a place like this. "Hello there." She smiled and slid down a bit, making room between the crowded table for the new arrival. "Please, have a seat. There's room enough. Are you hungry?" She motioned to the server. "I'm Sera."

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

Now, this was a surprise. A friendly person in these parts of the mid districts? That was a rarity, and Taci felt no hesitation in accepting the offer. "Thank you," the short one replied, clambering onto the stool next to the other pink-skinned tailhead. "Yeah, just stopped by to get something quick. I don't usually come here." Really, she had never once been here before.

While she was respectful towards most people without pause, Taci had learned that the most untrustworthy people were often of the same background. Cons often sought to attract people of like mind or species in order to gain some sort of credibility through familiarity and camaraderie. Truth be told, she had stolen something from another twi'lek in this manner when she was a teenager. The voice of personal experience told her to at first be cautious with the other tyrian. "I'm Taci," she offered in kind, returning the smile. "Are you just visiting?" She wondered if Sera was a native of the homeworld (Taci had never been to Ryloth.) or any other world, for that matter, considering how she seemed to be a bit less grim than the typical residents of Nar Shaddaa.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"It's nice to meet you, Taci." Her tone was a bit chipper. "I don't generally come here either. In fact, when at all possible I try to avoid it entirely. Nar Shaddaa that is." She glanced around the room, crinkling her nose before turning back to Taci. "Can't quite figure out if it's the smell, or the corruption." She laughed but a moment before continuing. "But to answer your question, I am visiting, in a manner of speaking. Looking for someone, actually. I heard they might be here now, or have passed through. Either way, I need to find out."

Rubbing the back of her neck, Sera could feel the tension in the air, this place made her uneasy. Rarely did anything positive ever come from, or out of Nar Shaddaa. "How about you? What brings you here?"

 

[Beowoof]

"I grew up here," Taci responded, sensing a lot more positive emotion and not much in the devious category from the other twi'lek. Still, she was not exactly an expert with the Force yet, and it was entirely possible that she was reading her wrong. She would stay a little leery, but so far, she was going to allow a lot more trust than would usually be deemed prudent. "Now I just come back to check up on things, I guess. There's some stuff I left behind and sometimes I see how it's doing and maybe take it with me." Her eyes fell to the small luggage case she held in her hand as she set it down under her fringed boots, propping up her feet.

"I was looking for someone, too. But it's just too much trouble to sniff them out right now." Tacitanya gestured to one of the barmen awkwardly, unfamiliar with how to go about things in this environment as she ordered one of the cookie-cutter meals they offered here. Then she continued with Sera. "Do you know where this person lives? I could give you directions." Directions to every nook or cranny. She knew this district like the back of her hand.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[member="Tacitanya"]

The young Padawan felt borderline sorry for the other Twi'lek. Nobody should be forced to grow up on Nar Shaddaa. This was hardly a hospitable place to live on, let alone grow up on. "I see." She nodded to Taci's comment. "What draws you back? I don't see it being the locals or the fine dining." Sera laughed, it was a cheap joke, but she had a cheap sense of humor. "I'm surprised there is anything left to check up on when you return. This is the largest center from crime in the galaxy. Whether it be out of malice or necessity, anything that can be stolen, usually is stolen."

It was interesting to Sera to know that she was likewise looking for someone, though it appeared as if she had given up her search for now. "I've gone through quite a bit of trouble to find this particular Twi'lek." She smirked as she gazed at Taci, "This Twi'lek is off the map. Has been for over 4 years. Up an vanished from Cambria. I've nothing to go on but the belief that someone saw him on this moon."

 

[Beowoof]

"When I left Nar Shaddaa, I wasn't able to take much of anything with me," she explained. "So now I'm just fetching whatever the spiffiest things are I left behind."

When Sera commented on stealing, Taci shuddered a bit and distracted herself with a bite of some fried fish (likely fake). She was not entirely innocent of thievery, and she hoped to keep that out of the conversation. "Yeah, totally..." she agreed for the sake of agreeing. Thankfully, the chat shifted to discussing some lost-and-found quest involving a missing person.

"There are lots of twi'leks here, if you hadn't noticed." Tacitanya smiled, referencing the current case in point. A lot of twi'leks, including her own mother, had been exported here, back when slavery was legal--not that people did not smuggle slaves in anymore, but it was not in the droves the galaxy had seen at one point in history. "It will be hard to find him, if he's still here. But..." She had to remember that she was a ranger. Lending a hand was what she had realized she was called to do. "I'm sorry. I really am just a blabbermouth sometimes. I should be thinking more positively.

"Do you have any other information? I... help out with these sorts of things on occasion."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[member="Tacitanya"]

"Ah, so you no longer live here? You just came back to pick up your belongings?" She wanted to probe the question a bit deeper, but thought it wise not to dive head first into Taci's home arrangements. "Yes...There are many Twi'leks here. Some not by choice I'm afraid. I've been to this moon more times than I care to count, and every time I see more or less the same sights. Poverty, crime, and death, all in equal shares."

Sera paused, thinking to her brother and what he might look like now compared to before. "It has been four years since I last saw him. His appearance may be a bit different, but I would recognize him if I saw him. Each report I've received in the past however has turned up either inaccurate, or undetermined. It seems, if he is still alive, I am always one step behind him. It's as if he knows I am looking for him or something."

Placing her drink down, she took another look out at the crowd of patrons before turning back to Taci. "Unfortunately no. I have nothing to go on but word of mouth, and my instinct. I feel that he is still alive. I just don't know where, and I don't know why he is running. I wouldn't think to burden anyone else with the task of finding this person, but if it is your wish to help, I would be a fool to refuse." She smiled before taking a stab at her own, likely mutated, meal.

 

[Gavin XIII]

Gavin smiled at his prey... The three men sitting across the table from him, gaping in fear, were all very guilty of murder. It was a shame to kill them, these few who had had the ability to kill so many. But all the Sithspawn's sympathy for them was gone. Despite being hardened, cold, bloodthirsty, killers, they'd still cowered in fear when he'd entered the little shop they had stopped to eat in. Since they were already in a place that sold food, he did what he usually liked to do before he killed a target: He offered them a last meal.

They had foolishly tried to run. One of them had even followed the laughable instinct to try and stab Gavin, looking like a Lepi in the headlights when the blade had shattered against his head. That man had died quickly and mercifully, with only a shot to the head. But these other two had refused to stop. They ran into a bar, and one of them looked for a hostage - any hostage. He ran towards a certain pink-skinned individual at the bar. She seemed deep in conversation with another Twi'lek, and was probably eating something too.

Gavin smirked and leaned casually against the doorway, looking at the familiar shape of his friend leaning on the bar. Then he raised his gun, and began to track the slower of the two men, nailing him between the shoulder blades. He wondered what Sera's reaction to being taken as a 'hostage' would be. He didn't suppose her assailant would live to find out.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

Four years sounded like a long time to catch up to a long-lost friend, and Tacitanya was rather doubtful that they would have success now. However, there was always a chance that things could work out (Stranger things had happened.), and the ranger had dedicated herself to helping people with needs such as this--not to mention taking down a thug or two. She decided to be optimistic and offer to lend a hand. "I do this sort of thing. It's kind of my job... if I have one."

Abruptly, a clamor rose above the normal clamor from behind a group of people in the cantina. Some low-lives were at it and Taci felt the horrible sensation precluding death. Whatever was going on needed to be stopped quickly. The short tyrian slid off her stool and speedily drew her silvery pistol with a little help from the Force, gritting her teeth in apprehension as one of the criminals aimed for Sera.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"], [member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[member="Tacitanya"] | [member="Gavin XIII"]

Sera beamed with excitement at Taci's proposal to assist with her search. "I've never been one to turn down a helping hand. It's my brother I am looking for. He deserted us on Cambria and I haven't seen or heard from him since. I've gotten various leads time and again, but every time I turn up, it's like he vanished. A ghost of some kind."

As the two were talking a group of men burst through the front door, followed by blaster fire. In the midst of the confusion and within a moment's notice, someone had their hand around her neck with a blaster pointed at her. "Move and you're a dead girl." he sneered as he whispered towards the Twi'lek. "Tell your other pinky friend there to drop the gun or she'll have to mop your brains off the floor."

The Jedi Padawan craned her neck a bit to see who was holding her hostage, "What is this abou-" she paused mid sentence as her gaze caught Gavin standing in the doorway. "Oh. I should have known." The man tightened his grip, out of fear or intent she wasn't entirely sure. "I said don't move, now I'm telling you not to speak either. The next word you speak will be your last, Schutta." She looked at Taci, then to Gavin, then around the room to see how this was going to play out if she didn't react. She motioned to Taci not to fire.

Taking a breath she leaned back into her captor, before swiftly throwing his hand up into the air, summoning her twin sabers from her belt with a bit of telekinetic energy, activating the pair before quickly severing the blaster into three separate pieces. She then turned to face him, both purple and green blades crackling as they pointed straight at him. "Stand down."

The cantina went silent. What was clearly a group of bounty hunters toward the back stood up. Jedi were worth quite a bit to the Sith when captured. Perhaps they could make some easy credits now that one just outed herself.

 

[Gavin XIII]

Gavin grinned sheepishly in Sera's direction, and then saw the group of kind of obvious mercs in the back stand up. The first man never knew what happened, as he moved towards the Thirteenth's friend and found a blast in his head for his trouble. Another man, in actual combat armor, tried to line up to shoot his head, and then screamed as a blast caught him in the gut.

The other two mercs backed away slowly, one still keeping aim on Gavin's head with a low-powered blaster. The former experiment just snorted, and leapt across the room at the man. The shot fired into the Thirteenth's face, and he roared in pain. He lashed out with his gun, smashing the culprit's nose and knocking his friend out. Now, he pointed his gun at the last of the hunters, who cried out and dropped his gun.

"You. Drag your little playmates back with you, and tell your friends who did it. Tell them..."

He smirked in Sera's direction again.

"That if anybody touches me or my Tyrian friend over there, there's going to be a very sudden increase in the numbers of holes in them. The Thirteenth doesn't play."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

A runaway brother was one of those things Tacitanya had not entirely suspected, though she probably should have gotten that vibe through the conversational cues leading up to this. Sometimes she could be a little slow putting two-and-two together. But at least she had been invited to help and make this trip actually worthwhile, as far as her self-imposed 'ranger duties' were concerned.

Unfortunately, Sera's plans might be cut short. Taci had either been too slow, or Thug Life had been too fast. Either way, Taci had lost the round and had no choice but to obey his demands and holster her gun as she looked on in despair. Of course, the very worst criminal encounter this time on Nar Shaddaa would have to be her latest acquaintance getting gutted in front of her very eyes. She should have known better than to break from her aversion to cantinas. It only took one time.

What happened next was a lovely maneuver in self-defense, followed by the conjuring of two lightsabers. So, she was in the presence of another one, perhaps like herself? Even as the brutes revamped their bloodthirsty riot, the short twi'lek became brave and followed suit, retrieving the hilt of her saber from underneath her coat and activating its nectar-colored plasma blade, her stance automatically widening in preparation for more attackers. She really was not ready to face down this bunch, but she was going to try to portray confidence as she stood next to Sera and watched the crazy gunslinger do his thing.

"I hope no one blames us for this..." she mumbled, glancing to the side at her pink compatriot. "Oh, and two sabers--that's pretty spiff."

[member="Gavin XIII"], [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

A number of bodies lay plastered across the floor after [member="Gavin XIII"] was finished, the disarmed man in front of Sera turned and fled immediately upon seeing not one, but two Force wielders with lightsabers, along with the crazy gunslinger. The rest of the cantina however was not amused. Sera turned back to Taci, surprised that she hadn't caught on to the Force sensitive earlier. "Oh, we're going to be blamed for this. That's nothing short of a guarantee." She smiled at the twin saber comment, "Oh, yes, my left hand prefers a dancing partner, so it always invites the right along for the ride. They dance well together."

She motioned for [member="Tacitanya"] to head towards the door as roughly half the cantina full of angry mercs, bounty hunters, and scum rose to their feet. It looks like they rained on their party, and they weren't having any more of it. "We....We need to go....We need to go right now. Before-" A swath of blaster fire erupted as a horde of patrons began firing towards the three.

 

[Gavin XIII]

Gavin looked around, bewildered, as the whole kriffing room seemed to rise up to attack. His face went through various stages of shock, amazement, and happiness before settling into a challenging smirk. As the crowd seemed to condense around the Thirteenth, Sera, and the other pink-skinned Twi'lek, his eyes flashed evilly. He cackled like the monstrous being he was, and drew his second gun. Not the same kind of masterwork as the Gun of the Thirteenth he carried, but it would be enough.

"You don't understand... Any of you thugs... I'm not stuck in here with you..."

He threw his arms out, and his long jacket cast a shadow across the room, totally unlike any that should have appeared at this time of day.

"YOU'RE ALL STUCK IN HERE WITH ME!"

And he began to cut a path to the door.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Tacitanya"]

(If I didn't like this character in my playby so much, he'd be Rorschach instead. )

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Raising her lightsaber to deflect the incoming bolts back towards her enemies as they continued backing toward the exit of the cantina, Gavin drew his second weapon and began firing relentlessly back towards the same foes. It was time to leave, their stay was seemingly over extended. "Taci! Let's get out of here! I don't think they want our business anymore!"

As they backed out toward the streets, the small army gathered inside continued firing blind toward them, without a care of whomever was outside the establishment. "So who were you chasing after this time Gavin? You always seem to cause quite a stir when I am around." She laughed as they continued their slow retreat.

[member="Gavin XIII"] [member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Gavin XIII]

Gavin grinned back as he concussed a thug with his gun. The big man crumpled, and the Thirteenth kicked him back into the crowd. They were finally out the door, but one last man struck out in a fit of anger, and managed to stick his vibroblade through Gavin's abdomen. The former experiment picked the man up, staring coldly at him, and dragged him across the ground, towards the edge of the nearby terrace.

"Well, Sera, I've been hunting spicerunners. Evidently, somebody wanted them dead pretty badly. Nobody's stupid enough to think I have enough self-control for anything else."

The Thirteenth pushed the man against the rail, kicking him over the side.

"And I suppose you're gonna screech at me for getting myself hurt again."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

Taci had no idea where this was going, really, but Sera was definitely right. They needed to get out of here. Backing towards the door, the short tyrian held the golden blade of her lightsaber angled towards the mob, not wanting to hurt anyone, but making herself look just threatening enough to ward the thugs back until she could get outside and make a break for it with her new comrades. Not that she was particularly fond of the crazy guy with the gun (He was causing a bit of undesired bloodshed.), but he was on her side and not exactly unjustified in his actions. Still, they would need to get out of here in tandem.

Taci's breathing became a little tense as the blasters began to open fire as she retreated out the door, the ranger still not entirely honed in her combat skills. A couple of deflected bolts got her in the groove, however, and she was able to expand her confidence as she continued alongside Sera and the friendly gunman.

"This is normal for you?" Tacitanya asked, overhearing some of the exchange between her allies. "I'm not going to be wanted for association... am I?"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"], [member="Gavin XIII"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's eyes widened as she shrieked when Gavin's abdomen suddenly swallowed a vibroblade. Without a word she quickly severed both ends of the blade until the weapon was only protuding a small bit. "You are a true test of my medical knowledge, you know that, right? Let's get you, and us, out of here, while we still can." She turned to Taci as they backed away. "Get him to one of the warehouses down the road, or to an alleyway out of sight. I will cover you."

Stepping forward as more of the fun seekers exited the cantina, guns trained towards her, she challenged them. "You sons of a bantha couldn't hit me if you were given all the blasters on Nar Shaddaa!" Leaping up and into the air towards the man who was closest, she Force pulled his gun straight away from his grasp before greeting him with the heel of her boot against the side of his head, knocking him into a quiet slumber on the ground beside her.

Twirling her blades in a criss-cross fashion she began the incessant repetitious blocking and deflecting of countless blaster bolts, the heat of her blades causing small beads of sweat to run down her face as she continued closing the distance on the men. Keeping up this defense would not allow herself to attack in any sort of fashion, but it should hopefully buy enough time for Taci and Gavin to get a bit further away before she took her own retreat, given no other surprises.

[member="Tacitanya"] | [member="Gavin XIII"]