Vertigo

[Cryax Bane]

Setting: Vertigo, a well-known slicer bar, Entertainment District, Nar Shaddaa

“Meet my associates at Vertigo in an hour. And don’t be kriffing late,” read the last part of the encrypted message. A two-bit Hutt needed to get his hands on some sensitive information and wanted a personal touch he just couldn’t get with droids. The Hutt had overheard that a slicer named “Bug” was just the Chiss for the job.

Cryax Bane desperately needed credits. And a treacherous Hutt wouldn’t normally have been his first choice, but you know, beggars, choosers, and all that. He hopped a shuttle to Nar Shaddaa, and waited at Vertigo, a bar well-known to be frequented by slicers and fringers. Two and a half hours later, hide nor hair of this crime boss’s representatives appeared. Looked like they were going to be no-shows.

Great. He’d wasted credits on the shuttle and the alcohol to be stood up by a Hutt’s lackeys. Just great. The whiskey burned his throat as he threw back another shot and continued to watch folks more adept at the social graces intermingle. In the crowd a gorgeous Zeltron caught his eye for a second, but he instinctively looked away, self-conscious. Yeah, like she’d ever end up with someone like him.

The lanky Chiss scanned the crowd once again, blinking his red eyes, looking for a familiar face, another slicer perhaps? Maybe someone willing to pass off a job too paltry to take, a hand-me-down just ripe enough for a bottom feeder. He shook his head. Something had to come his way soon or else he have to resort to... he didn’t care to delve into that scenario so he ordered another shot.

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Doc entered Vertigo, an establishment he often frequented when he was on leave, and had been a patron of since his CIS days. The crowd was thick tonight and the air smelled of spice and immoral intentions. It was just the way he liked it. The Sergeant flashed a smile at an attractive Zeltron who seemed to be gathering more than a little bit of attention from the male population inside the bar as he lit a Cigarra. Allowing the smoke to fill his lungs and radiate it's warmth before pushing it out again. He wore his normal "outside" get up, a black and red Corellian leather jacket, green crew cut shirt underneath, black cargo pants, and equally dark boots. If it'd been day he would've had sunglasses and a pocket sized slugthrower sat comfortably strapped to his side.

The Zeltron smiled pack flirtatiously and Doc acknowledged her before moving to the bar. He wasn't after what she might have to offer that night, but was instead fighting the creeping memory of the young man who's entire leg had been blown off a week before. Doc had sealed it and prevented the kid from bleeding to death but the experience had stuck with him, mainly since it'd been part of the first action he'd seen in about a year and a half. Doc continued to push out thoughts of that being the very reason he existed and ordered the local ale and a whiskey as he took a seat next to a young nervous looking Chiss.

 

[Cryax Bane]

Was that a Cigarra he was smelling all of a sudden? Oh, someone was sitting next to him. Cryax shuffled around on his barstool to sneak a glance at the fellow. A nice-looking guy, in a really sharp leather jacket, a guy who most likely had no problem staying gainfully employed. He could have been mistaken, but the Chiss noticed that the man had a slight pained look in his eye. Or maybe not, Cryax usually made a Gamorrean's ear out of reading human emotions.

Still the whiskey had made him a tad bit bolder than usual so what the hell. He turned to the man, wiped his sweaty palms on his pantlegs, and slurred, "Next one's on me if you tell me where a guy could find some work around here."

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

"Around here?" Doc asked, keeping a slight check on his sarcasm because of the offer of a free drink. "Well there's Hutts..... Criminals... Dealers. That's pretty much here on this dirtball." Doc said slightly louder than the rest of the sentence, drawing a few damn rights and chuckles among the regulars. It also managed to bring a grin to Doc's face.

He sipped on the ale after taking his shot, allowing the Cigarra to sit on the ashtray as he did so. "Now if you mean here in a relative way, as in the Galaxy, I might be able to help you out. Not entirely sure if you're the type though. Lifestyle's a bit sporadic and you will be working for what the free beings would call Imperialist pigs."

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax listened intently to the man as he talked of working for Imperials. A sporadic lifestyle he could deal with, he had one of those now. Working for Imperials he was less sure about although the man seemed to imply that he wasn't cut out for it and that was a challenge Cryax felt compelled to accept. He wanted to make something of himself. To prove wrong the inner voice that told him he wasn't going to amount to anything in the galaxy. With a possible bounty on his head and credits dwindling, he had to make a quick decision.

Besides the man seemed so sure of himself and Cryax envied that. Perhaps to be around others like this, well, maybe some of the cool would rub off on him.

"What kind of work? I can't fly a ship worth a crap, but I'm a decent technician, and if I could humbly brag, I can pretty much get anywhere on HoloNet. Even places I'm not supposed to go." He smirked, wishing he didn't feel so damn awkward making conversation. He quickly looked away. Down at his drink. At the Zeltron (yep, still gorgeous). Anywhere but the man's eyes.

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Doc found himself liking the nervous Chiss, it was evident the kid was hungry but didn't know where or what to direct the ambition at. He'd met many other service members who'd had that problem before joining, it'd always been fascinating to Doc, who'd literally been bred for conflict. "The Military always needs techs, if your good you should rise fast. I honestly don't know much about where you could go or what you could do if you wanted to have a civilian job. I'm sure it'll help you with some of that nervousness you've been radiating too."

He caught the Chiss's eyes shifting to the direction of Zeltron for the second time since they'd been talking.

"You wanna talk to her?" Doc asked in a slightly more serious tone and with a clear gesture in her direction.

 

[Cryax Bane]

"Her?" He turned his head towards the red-skinned beauty who was oblivious to his attraction. "She's way out my league." He laughed thinly and quickly changed the subject to anything else but the opposite sex.

This guy was military. He must have seen and done it all. What stories the man probably had. His eyes lit up as he hailed the bartender to get the fellow another ale. "The military certainly is an interesting proposition. I've always wanted to get my hands on the servos of a combat droid..." He trailed off, trying not to sound too eager, but the thought of getting his hands on all that innovative tech excited him. Play it cool, man! The wheels started turning in his mind. If he worked for the military, he'd have to make sure he scrubbed some of his tracks on the HoloNet but that was no big deal.

He stuck out a sweaty hand. "The name's Cryax Bane."

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

"Doc." The clone replied as he gripped [member="Cryax Bane"]'s sweaty hand firmly. He saw the Chiss's eyes light up and immediately felt a pang of guilt at talking to him about the military. If he later found out the man had died he'd probably feel guilty about it, though that wasn't anywhere close to a certainty and Bane would likely be fine. Doc shook the thought off and accepted the other ale with a smile.

"Yeah her." Doc said with a slight chuckle. "There are no leagues man, that's the key to situations like this. Everything just kinda is." Then without waiting for a reply Doc picked up his all and walked over to the Zeltron's table, whispering a few things to her about a brilliant young up and comer who'd taken an interest in her before pointing to [member="Cryax Bane"] and leading her to the table. It was easy to see why she'd attracted so much attention with how many pheromones she was putting out, besides the fact that she looked stunning anyway.

"Cryax this is Adriav." Doc said in a polite tone. "I was just telling her about what a technical genius you are."

The Zeltron flashed a smile at Cryax and said in an excited whisper "Is it true that you hacked into the Republic News Network?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax's eyes widened as he saw the woman approaching and he shifted from foot to foot nervously. "Nah, everyone thought it was me, but it turned out to be the work of Carbon, you know that famous Slicer from Dantooine." He looked away, his blue cheeks turning a bit purple as he blushed. He reached his hand out for his shotglass and missed, knocking a glass flying, and spilling alcohol everywhere. A few bar patrons nearby shot him deadly glances. If he pissed these types off, the next thing that would be spilling would be his blood. Cryax cringed hard.

Welp he figured he blew it with the Zeltron but hoped he didn't blow it with Doc. How the kriff did that guy get the girl's attention so quickly? He had to learn some of those moves.

Wringing out the bottom of his liquor-soaked trenchcoat, the young Chiss quickly changed the subject again, "So, Doc...is that just a nickname or are you actually a doctor?"

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Doc shot the locals a murderous glance and they all went back to their alcohol. Vertigo had only been witness to one of his bar fights and the regulars who saw it had learned a very nasty lesson from the Commando. The Zeltron gave a look of suprise and then disinterest, returning to her previous location in the bar. "I don't think I've ever seen anybody blow it that bad with that well set up of a situation." Doc said with a playful chuckle. "It's my only name actually, unless you want to call me CC-420. What about you Solo? I know hackers love aliases."

 

[Cryax Bane]

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

The alcohol was coursing through his veins like a truth serum. Plus, after epically striking out with the Zeltron, and grateful for the more seasoned military man's protection, Cryax felt the need to at least try and redeem himself with Doc. He spilled his guts. "My alias on the HoloNet is 'Bug,' and I can go anywhere on the HoloNet. Like, anywhere. Seriously, the more protected the network, the better. Codebreaking is the ultimate challenge. I can access anyone's personal information, from Sith Lords to diplomats...of course, I don't, cause that would be creepy, but sometimes I do. And what I really want to do is be part of a crew, where I can get into space battles, and spoof signals, and, and..." He stopped, realizing he was rambling.

"Seriously, I'm the best. Do you have any use for a guy that's really, really good with computers?"

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

"Always." Doc replied with more than a bit of a thought to the offer that [member="Ice"] had mentioned to him about a specialized unit. "They need techies more than they need grunts, given most people don't have the aptitude for it. If your really serious about doing this you can take a ride back to the Fleet with me and I'll set something up. I leave in a few days so you don't have to decide right this moment but I do need to know kinda soon. Then they'll process all the correct paperwork and put you through Basic." His tone had changed from his more playful sarcasm to something more serious, this would be a life changing decision for Cryax. Especially if Doc got him placed where he had the gumption to be. As long as the slicer could build up his physical strength the mental portion should be easy for him.

"As long as you can take the slight mental abuse and understand why your Drill Sergeants are yelling at you I think you'll do great."

 

[Cryax Bane]

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

With less than zero credits left in his account and way too much alcohol in his system, something told Cryax this was the right thing for him to do. He slammed his shot glass down on the bar and tilted his head towards Doc. "Kriff it. Sign me up!" Life on the run had become unbearable for him as of late, and any abuse a drill seargent gave him couldn't be worse than the abuse he took during his stint with The Collectors. He was ready for a change, and excited by the prospects of a new job. Perhaps he'd even get some combat training.

"Let's do this! Where and when do we leave?"

In the back of his mind, he hoped the Imperials treated their droids with respect. If not, maybe he could influence them. Introduce them to the idea of Droid's rights. Impart some radical thinking. Either way the young Chiss's head was swimming with new possibilities.

 

[CC-420 "Doc"]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Doc chuckled, he liked Cyrax's enthusiasm. "At the Mezenti Spaceport in three days. We've got a shuttle coming in to pick up the others here and myself. I'll get you on it. Then they'll work out your contract and whatnot." This was something he wasn't used to doing. Recruiting. That brought forward a thought, Doc was more than qualified to teach recruits, maybe he could do something like that in the future. He had a good feeling about the techs future though and was going to make it a point to check in on him at some point after training.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

[member="CC-420 Doc"]

The Chiss broke out into a smile, genuinely letting his guard down for the first time all night. Was Doc offering him a place to stay? He didn't need one, but he was touched by the offer. He hadn't been shown this kind of camaraderie in a while, and he was looking forward to getting know more about the man.

Vertigo was now packed with people all crammed together in the same space, mingling, making out and jostling for drinks. The large crowd was starting to get under his skin. And he shot a dirty look at an oblvious Ithorian who had just elbowed him in the shoulder blades.

"Right now I'm staying in a one-room dump down the block, and think it's infested with space fleas. Lucky for me, I'm about to get kicked out anyway. I'll meet you at the Spaceport in three days then. And seriously, thanks. I can't wait to get off this planet."

 

[Cryax Bane]

Three days later

With the ubiquitous sound of blaster shots ringing out from the street below along with the occasional whoop whoop of a security droid's siren, the young Chiss paced back and forth in his craphole of an apartment. He was supposed to be leaving for the Mezenti Spaceport in under an hour. About to join a military of all places, an institution which, let's face it who was he kidding, would probably eat him for breakfast, regurgitate him and then eat what was leftover. What was he thinking? Answer is: he wasn't. The booze was a catalyst for very bad decisions. He made a mental note to stay off the drink for a while as punched in a message on his Datapad and hastily cancelled the air taxi. No sense in having to calm down a disgruntled taxi pilot who ventured out to a neighborhood like this for zero fare.

He sighed and flopped down on couch, kicking over the coffee table with one beat-up black leather boot. He hoped that [member="CC-420 Doc"] wouldn't be too disappointed in him for having cold feet but if he was, well, that was certainly nothing new.