Where Credits are King (open to all)

[Laira Darkhold]

"Go ahead." She gestured at the seat across from her as the Chiss asked to sit with her. Though she wasn't interested in a conversation or life story from the Chiss, he wasn't rude and wasn't bothering her and she knew how to be polite when she wanted to be. She offered him a polite smile and straightened up so she wasn't sprawled on the table they were about to be sharing. The waitress returned to them shortly and Laira took her juice without a word, sipping on it for a moment before addressing the Chiss again.

"Laira." She said gesturing to herself slightly, nothing conspicuous. Her vest and trousers were a pretty solid give away she was a spacer of sorts, work boots instead of anything seriously fashionable. "So, how may I help you Desmond. I don't think I've seen you before." Not that she would have any reason to. She was new to Nar Shaddaa and had never flown out here before, but he likely didn't know that. She kept things close to the vest and rarely revealed too much about herself, she used an alias ever since she had left her home. No reason to stop that habit now, it had been a long time since she had even bothered to use her real name much less disclose it to strangers trying to pick her up at a shady bar.

She had taken notice of a few others. An audaciously out of place Pantoran speaking with a large mercenary, soldier of fortune looking type, a man that looked to be quite the rogue and hotshot with them as well. This chiss had not come alone, but with bodyguards or close associates of sorts as well.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Go ahead." She gestured at the seat across from her as the Chiss asked to sit with her. Though she wasn't interested in a conversation or life story from the Chiss, he wasn't rude and wasn't bothering her and she knew how to be polite when she wanted to be. She offered him a polite smile and straightened up so she wasn't sprawled on the table they were about to be sharing. The waitress returned to them shortly and Laira took her juice without a word, sipping on it for a moment before addressing the Chiss again.

"Laira." She said gesturing to herself slightly, nothing conspicuous. Her vest and trousers were a pretty solid give away she was a spacer of sorts, work boots instead of anything seriously fashionable. "So, how may I help you Desmond. I don't think I've seen you before." Not that she would have any reason to. She was new to Nar Shaddaa and had never flown out here before, but he likely didn't know that. She kept things close to the vest and rarely revealed too much about herself, she used an alias ever since she had left her home. No reason to stop that habit now, it had been a long time since she had even bothered to use her real name much less disclose it to strangers trying to pick her up at a shady bar.

She had taken notice of a few others. An audaciously out of place Pantoran speaking with a large mercenary, soldier of fortune looking type, a man that looked to be quite the rogue and hotshot with them as well. This chiss had not come alone, but with bodyguards or close associates of sorts as well.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Desmond accepted his drink from the waitress graciously and gave her a slight nod of appreciation. He was usually more of a whiskey Chiss, but his ploy to find out whether the woman was a Mando without insulting her had left him with the very bitter Tihaar. He took a sip and nearly gagged, his eyes began to water and he entered a rough coughing fit. "By the force those Mandalorians know how to drink!"

Desmond turned his gaze to Laira. He studied her puzzled. He was a great judge of character and assumed her to be another Mandalorian bounty hunter. They were so common on Nar'shadaa. But, alas it seemed he was incorrect. Still despite her lax wear their was something off about her. A mystery then! Des did oh so love solving a good puzzle. If she was not Mandalorian as he hoped then their was still plenty of other rough looking folk in the bar. Hell if he got especially desperate he could have his body guards do the work... All though the thought of putting socio paths like themselves at the head of training operations seemed some what.. Of a bad idea.

Never the less he was now determined to find out more about the woman. If only for the hell of it. "Well me? Why should you know me? But, to the point. See, I spotted a soft set of eyes and thought i'd come say hello. Women like you should never drink alone especially in these parts. I find it curious as to why you would come here though. Perhaps you'd care to tell me about yourself,"

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira arched an eyebrow at the Chiss. "Just getting a drink between flights, stretching my legs." There was little reason a redhead raised on Alderaan with some slight Atrisian heritage wearing spacer's clothes would instantly strike anyone as 'That has to be a Mandalorian'. Especially because she didn't wear any of the symbols or iconography. But, it wasn't important, this Chiss was interested in speaking which wasn't exactly on her to do list, but she could entertain him.

"Soft eyes, huh. Interesting how you noticed my eyes while my head was down." Laira smirked at him, wiping the hair from her face and rolling her shoulders to ease the tension of a long trip to the Smuggler's moon. Her grey eyes looked him over casually. She waved over a waitress with a cursory twist of her hand. Certainly some of the waitresses looked more available than she did, perhaps not as naturally good-looking though. Laira did benefit from having inherited her mother's beauty. "Well, if you are going to sit there starring at my eyes, you might as well feed me. I could go for a nerf steak, medium rare. Mixed greens on the side." The young redhead smiled at the waitress.

"I'm a freighter captain. I fly cargo from point a to point b. Point b just happened to be Nar Shaddaa this time. Once my ship is fueled, cleaned, and prepped, after I get a nice meal and stretch out for a little bit, I'll be back on my way." She leaned back in the chair, draping one arm over the back of it while she waited for her bar food. It was bar food so the steak was likely to be tougher than boot leather even if she got it medium rare. Who knew what the mixed greens would actually be.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[John Ash]

The young woman spoke while she handed some papers over to [member="Valkren Calderon"] . Weird the woman was using paper instead of a holopad while out and about, but John had seen weirder things by far on Nar Shaddaa. Why someone would dress up like a male jedi is drag while swinging glow sticks in the air in the middle of the street was beyond him. Wasn't even any music playing. The paper was flashed to him and he got a look at what was there. "Priscilla Genesis - Pantoran Royal Trade Councilor - Princess of the Pantoran Throne" That was going to be dangerous around here. If any of the less morally gray residences got word of her, she would be in a dirty warehouse half undressed while a ransom was sent out within the hour.

This [member="Priscilla Genesis"] was clearly here on business, and it seemed whatever it was concerning the Commerce guild was not scheduled. She wanted to take a cab, but cabs were a bad idea when the bartender was acting the way he did. None of this was looking good, and while the girl knew how to play someone like the soldier, she didn't know how to play the game at Nar Shaddaa. She was even confident she had won her little victory here when she went to leave. John sort of didn't want to get involved with this whole thing, but he couldn't exactly let the girl go off and get herself into trouble. If she was indeed royalty then there might be future jobs in it for him if he did something right now.

So John got up and rushed over to the girl. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said, " Where are you going? You forgot you were going to buy us a round of drinks." He turned his attention to the bartender and added, " Private room for three." The man seemed to hear him over the crowd and began to speak with one of the waitresses. He motioned for the soldier to follow him then said to the girl, " Come on, lets go." He attempted to move her so that they were heading towards the private room that the waitress was getting ready for them in the back. Hopefully she wasn't about to be stubborn here and would just play along. It would be better for them all if she did.

[member="GC-98"] [member="William Pike"] [member="Anastasia Snow"]

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

As she was about to exit while still grinning, she felt a hand touch her soldier just as she was about to part ways with the dump. Although she wasn't in the mood for arguing right now, she had better things to do. As she reached out the door whispering something to a guard, before he proceeded to get into a hover limo and drive off swiftly. She turned around smiling.

"Private room you say? With who?"

She would continue to ask questions as John eventually took her to the room.

"Where is this private room?"

"Who are you?"

"Are you kidnapping me? My father won't be amused" giggling after this last line.

"No but seriously. I am a very busy woman. Let's make this discussion quick and easy for both of us."

GC-98 William Pike Anastasia Snow [member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] Valkren Calderon

 

[Rashae]

She had met him as instructed but the damned contact wanted something she didn't have. Why were they still after the formula. Rashae didn't have it and never did have it, yet every damned corporate head hunter and tech thief was dieing to get it.

“Come on fork it over. The offer is very generous.” The weasel faced man said.

“I don't know how many times I have to say that I don't have it. Is that all that you drug me down here for?” Rashae was incredulous at the persistence after a year or more still.

“Everyone knows you have it. “ The weasel faced shrugged while eyeing the woman with scrutiny. In Nar Shadda It was difficult to determine who was lieing and who was telling the truth.

The woman made a strangled noise as she bunched up her fist. “I don't have it and I don't know where it is. Who told you I had it?” She demanded in a hushed voice.

“We have our sources. We usually get what we want in the end. “ He said before he slinked into the shadows and left her alone there in the bowels of Nar Shaddaa.

“Fourty two.. pssstttt.” She looked around. “Kriffing hell!!” as she kicked the wall before turning to lean on the wall and back fist it hitting it as hard as she could. They were pursuing her, worse yet, more might be making inquiries if HE leaked out that she still had the formula. She never had it. She had no idea where it was. The gifted doctor and scientist entire reputation was ruined over it.

She straightened herself up and walked into the throng. Rashae was a stunning woman and if it wasn't her icy stare that parted the throng it was perhaps her purposeful step as she picked at random a likely place. She had to think. She needed a .. relaxant and these places usually have them. Pulling her med scanner as she did often. The place wasn't too dirty. It didn't matter, her nerves were rattled to the point where she had to sit down.

A vague eye to the Pantoran female and Human male gave her little notion to do more than glance as she entered the bar. In fact, she wasnt really looking around at all much. She sat down at the bar and without looking at the bartender she ordered crisply. “Vodka, Whole bottle, ice cold, clean glass.” The raven haired doctor wore a black tunic with medical blue trim, medical insignias were clearly pinned on her collar. Once she got her drink she poured the clear liquid into the glass and took a good long drink. The credits were exchanged in payment. She then put both hands at her temples to massage them as her mind moved rapidly to figure out what the hell was going on.



[member="Priscilla Genesis"] [member="John Ash"] [member="GC-98] [member="William Pike"] [member="Anastasia Snow"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]
[member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Thraxis]

A wicked grin rolled across his face, he had heard most everything that had transpired between both the Outstanding Citizen of the Year Priscilla, what had transpired with Desmond and the curious Droid that had taken residence behind a couple of seats. He had sat there in the corner, his mask hanging by his side with a large Barrel of Tuskan Booze laid at his right, half opened as he and the Hutt made banter back and fourth. He leaned in, malevolence warping his once joyous demeanor as he decided to kick up some trouble in Nar Shadaa. Two digits drew in the Hutt's attention, signs of weariness shown as he looked back and fourth. "Listen, Sobac, Lithe chick in the fancy clothing." he mumbled, the Hutts attention bouncing back and fourth before focusing on the girl malice growing on his face as his lips parted into a toothless grin. "Sounding like she is of some fancy smants bloodline. Which means..." he paused letting the Hutt fill in the blanks, a test to see if the Hutt had any cells between his two ears.

"Gellonae..." his voice echoed, a group of thugs gathering about as he lifted his meaty arm, the flubber flowing back and fourth as he started issuing demands, then thugs nodding their head as they all started to part from the bar, making themselves set up around the building for when she decided to part ways from its lustrous allure. As they started to part ways the two got back to their jovial banter, an echoing cry from the Hutt as they got back to their previous engagement, drinking the Hutt dry as the Gammorean for the first time talked with ease around his boss.

As the Hutt and the Gammorean's attention was drawn away Thraxis opened up his Comm, a flick of the finger and the run of the digits as he scrolled through his comm, transferring some funds to Desmond with a 'BING' followed by a note, "Next time, don't donate all your cash to charity." it read, a sense of smugness was written in the words as Thraxis took no time to turn to Desmond, engaging himself back into his affair with the Hutt and Gammorean as they reminisced about times Thraxis made up to pass the time.

Then came the final straw, his attention drawn to the Droid who had simply taken a stance with not an interest to be taken. It was a sad site, to say the least, it was a Cantina and everyone should have their own interest peaks. Thraxis rubbed his hand along the back of his head, "What can we do for you.... I know..." his fingers snapped together, the Hutt and Gammorean's attention drawn as Thraxis leaned in once more, it seemed there were a bunch of officers of the law or at least something of the sort. With a lean and a scowl, Thraxis moved towards the Hutt, a false sense of Ire drawn across his face as he whispered to the Hutt, "I don't like the look of that droid. You should rough him up." he said with glee as the Hutt took his words into consideration, a nod of the head as two Weequay responded back, approaching [member="GC-98"]. Thraxis had entrusted that there would be some assistance for him from someone, and in turn, that should start a fight to get the heat of Nar Shadaa lit anew.
[member="Priscilla Genesis"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="John Ash"]
[member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Lark"]
[member="William Pike"]

 

[GC-98]

GC-98 watched as a rather beautiful woman, according to facial structure and sexual preferences, walked in and sat herself down at the bar.

Upon closer examination she appeared to be a practitioner of medicine, but GC-98 doubted if this was in fact true. Any clothing on any living being in this place could be stolen, a highly likely probability.

He watched as she rubbed her temples, noting this as rather odd behaviour. He thought this social action may indicate she was in trouble and needed help, in which case maybe he could be of service. He approached her, watching over her shoulder as she rubbed her temples, waiting for her to open her eyes again. It was rude to interupt her 'relaxing', this much he knew.

 

[D'vok Windroamer]

D'vok was buzzed, trying to get kriff-faced. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he could only not hear so much.
"........Commerce guild...................Round of drinks-"
D'vok's ears perked up.
".............Private room for three.........."
D'vok wasn't just looking for a free drink, he was legitimatley interested in the conversation. He quietly and inconspicously made his way to were he could hear the conversation. He sipped his corellian whiskey.

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

A message from Thraxis appeared on his data pad. He had transferred funds to Des’s account and a silent prayer of thanks went to the man. Next time he wouldn’t be so generous with the street urchins… This also reminded Desmond of his mission.

The girl was a welcome sight. Desmond appreciated beautiful things art, cars, and women. So, he decided to derail his Imperial duties and spend a little more time then he should with the lady.

Desmond noticed how she seemed to relax as she caught him in his lie, but that was aside the point. “You avoiding someone? That why you hide those precious gems of yours eh?” He said smoothly as he noticed her eyes for the first time. Then Desmond’s mind began to race with ideas. A smuggler maybe, perhaps even a burglar like myself? Alas his thoughts came to a screeching halt when the woman began to order a meal. Desmond stared forlornly as a sizeable dent was taken out of Thraxis’s funds. Feth. “Already paid for miss!” Des said with a melancholy smile.

Alas, such was the price of women. An arm and a leg for a gander at the eyes. She began speaking again and Des noted she was a freighter pilot. Smuggler mayhap with a past. Perhaps even enemies. “What kind of freight do you carry?” Desmond inquired curiously.

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Oh no, not hiding. Tired. Besides, it helps stretch out the muscles of your back and keep your spine aligned." She smiled at the chiss across from her, Laira's grey peering across the table. There seemed to be movement in the bar, several parties splitting off and making for other sections of it, but it was of no concern to her at the moment.

"I haul what people pay me to haul. Sometimes I'll transport guns, though I'm a bit picky as to whom and to where. If I were to get caught shipping weapons to the wrong place or for the wrong people, there's not much I could do to get out of jail time. Other things I can get away with much more easily." Not much, but she had some solid options on get out of jail free cards. Her meal came, and it was much to be expected, a rough looking piece of meat and a small assortment of greens and vegetables on the side of the plate.

Much like her mother, she stopped and cut the steak into bite size pieces, the entire small piece into small, polite, bites before she would even consider beginning to eat. It was a quirk her mother had developed in order to achieve a sense of control over herself, and a trait Laira picked up because she say it so often and much for the same reason. So much of her life was predetermined and decided well before she could walk and talk, much less decide for herself that having total control over such a small thing was still a small comfort.

"So, I've told you about myself. What about yourself? What is it you do that brings a specimen like yourself to the shady parts of Nar Shaddaa?" Laira wore a smirk on her face, one eyebrow slightly raised as she regarded him, looking up from the plate.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The Sergeant was almost on his way out the door behind this so called princess, his mind in a slightly hazy state, before [member="John Ash"] suddenly turned her around the opposite way. Bad move; the only two that knew about her noble title were himself and John, and now John had possibly drawn even more suspicion to the small, three person group; and in a place like this, where wandering eyes were always traveling, it could take something just that small to attract unwanted attention.

As John led [member="Priscilla Genesis"] to the private room, Calderon took a quick glance about the bar, placing both hands on his hips, pushing back the jacket slightly to reveal the sidearm. His right hand brushed the grip of the weapon on purpose, giving him the ability to make a split-second reaction, if needed. After spending a good thirty-seconds briefly scanning the room and analyzing each and every face that was in their line of sight, he'd turn away and follow after the two that were hurried into the private room. A few eyes were certainly drawn to the scene, but most were the wasted and the gambling, not wishing to get involved in anything more than their own business; atleast, that's what the Sergeant had hoped.

This is just fetthin' great.

Valkren had hoped for a simple cab ride to the wealthier district of Nar Shaddaa, which seemed like it would have been a nice addition to his short R&R time on Nar Shaddaa. Now, here he was getting dragged into something else. Good thing was, it seemed as if something was beginning to happen as a group of mixed races seemed to approach a simple protocol droid ( [member="GC-98"] ) in hopes to cause trouble. This could be a way to slip out un-noticed, if the girl he had just met really needed it.

Usually, he'd jump in the assist with the poor droid, but here on Nar Shaddaa, it was truly every thing for themselves.

Valkren would push his way into the private room before looking to the group that had been hurried inside, "Right.." He thought to speak his mind, before cutting himself off. The few drinks had gotten to his mouth, and he wasn't about to start an entirely separate fight within the private section of the bar. He'd shake his head and fold his arms, waiting for someone to speak up. He was sure, but mostly hoping, that the bounty hunter had his reasons for pulling her inside all of a sudden.

[member="D'vok Windroamer"] | [member="Thraxis"] | [member="Priscilla Genesis"] | [member="John Ash"]

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

As she was dragged into the room, she quickly took a glance at her surroundings. Her face was almost shocked at the conditions that she was in. The dirty and damp velvet along with the sorry excuse for a table which was nearly broken down, she certainly was not used to atmosphere like this, and really, who was.

"Listen, I know commoners like you don't understand what it's like to be famous, but is this what this planet is really like? If I didn't know better I'd think you're all playing a massive joke on me for my birthday; of course, that's years away. What's your names?"

Priscilla would then start leaning against the table as it falls down, causing a huge CRASH. She'd then look [member="Valkren Calderon"] and [member="John Ash"] before awkwardly crossing her arms..

D'vok Windroamer | Thraxis | Priscilla Genesis | John Ash GC-98

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren winced at the crash that surely echoed throughout the bar. It was sure to attract more attention if the public section of the structure had not already turned into a rowdy barfight, attention they surely didn't need. After watching Priscilla crash to the ground, he'd switch his gaze to John, cocking a brow before taking a step forward to offer her a hand up.

"Valkren Calderon, let's just say i'm a member of the Republic and the Directorate.." He decided to keep it simple, not going into detail about the unit he was in and his skill level like he previously did with John at the bar. The Sergeant seemed to shake off the word 'commoners,' rather simply. Being raised on a farm on Alderaan before his enlistment in the Republic military, he'd been called much worse than a commoner.

Wether she'd accept his help up to her feet or not, he'd take a glance over his own shoulder afterwards, almost expecting someone to walk in, his right hand resting close to the grip of his blaster incase there truly was any un-welcome attention.

[member="Priscilla Genesis"] | [member="John Ash"]

 

[GC-98]

GC-98 turned around for a moment, hearing a faint crash on his sensors from another room. With this he saw two Weequay approaching, their walking path suggesting a direct route to himself. He knew that once a target was chosen in a bar, there was a 97% probability of physical violence breaking out. 89% of these would be lethal, including vibro-knives and/or blasters. GC-98 decided a pre-emptive warning was necessary, in case there was a chance of dissuading them from causing further disturbance.

As soon as they got within 2 metres of the droid he drew his S-5 heavy blaster pistol on one of them, with impressive speed for an old droid, holding it in its face.

'Murder, unlikely. Rape, highly improbable. Robbery, useless. Please state the nature of your hostility' GC-98 said to them, ready to pull the trigger.

GC was aware of repercussions from other parties that may be in the bar, but didn't care. He wanted these creatures to know that, just because he was a droid, that wasn't sufficient permission to single him out. He could hold his own.

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

As she heard the word 'Republic' she arched an eyebrow quite drastically. She remembered just what people like that did to her family, along with what they could possibly do in the future. It was an uncomfortable reminder of something she never thought that she would hear.

"Rep-... The Republic of course, oh I am just huge fans of your's. Can I get an autograph? Oh the directorate you say? So you're important? Oh golly!"

Her face would light up with this phrase, forced of course, and noticeably so. Her hands moved to

[member="John Ash"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[John Ash]

The woman was hardly dragged to the room. John had more lead her there with his arm so she didn't try to back away and run. That would have been a stupid move on her part as it would have attracted unwanted attention. After they got into the room, John had to raise a brow. The quality of private rooms in this area tended to be better and cleaner. No wonder the bar only attracted a more rowdy, criminal crowd. He watched the young Pantoran fall then converse a bit with the soldier. Seemed these two didn't get what was going on here. Typical. Outsiders rarely understood Nar Shaddaa and it tended to get them killed.

John chuckled at the last thing that [member="Priscilla Genesis"] had to say. He said himself as he locked the door, " Most people respond to Republic that way." He then walked over to the girl and directed her to sit down as far from the door as possible. He began to whisper in a low voice that no one outside of the room could hear, " Girl, you are being stupid and going to get yourself raped and killed. Never take a cab after acting like you have wealth or authority off moon. If you want to get to the Commerce guild alive then I suggest you hire me to take you there. It won't be cheap, but it will be reliable. I do live here after all and make my living doing this kind of job."

John then turned his attention to [member="Valkren Calderon"] and said in the same whisper as before, " Soldier boy, I get that you are off duty right now but you need to sober up. You are saying too much and acting too much like a soldier. Get it together or get out." He then waited to hear back from the two of them. He wasn't being nice, possibly even rude, but its what they needed to hear right now. He just hoped they followed his lead on the whispers. It looked like someone had tried to eavesdrop on them earlier.

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

As she would receive this response she would step away from [member="John Ash"], placing her hand on her throat and clearing it. "I understand you think you can bully me, but honestly it isn't going to work. I've been around this rodeo more than once buster; I know what I'm doing so if you could please stop trying to hyperbolise the entire situation. Honestly, this planet seems lovely and you seem intent on making my stay here a misery. Cut it out."

As she would look down she would place her hands on her head shaking.

"Ugh. Now you've made me so stressed. Do you know where I could get some blueberry tea around here? I'm so parched."



[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[John Ash]

John didn't wait for [member="Valkren Calderon"] to have time to respond. He just looked to the little "princess" with a stern gaze. She really didn't understand the situation at all. She wanted to believe she had everything under control and it was all going her way, yet it wasn't and wouldn't. She was all flustered now and seemed as if she was going to break just from the thought of something bad happening. Weak women were a pain to deal with. Likely she would try to bat her eyes and blush a bit to try to manipulate some poor sucker into doing what she wanted them to. If she didn't lift a finger herself here on Nar Shaddaa then she was going to end up dead in a gutter with less than half her clothes on.

A point needed to be made for this girl to get just how bad Nar Shaddaa was. He drew one of his pistols from it's holster and pointed it at her. He began to pull the trigger repeated. Click after click sounded in swift succession as the hammer struck emptiness. He said in the same whisper as before as he put it away, " This is Nar Shaddaa. I emptied a clip into a guy earlier and no one stopped me. No one cared. I just walked in, filled his chest with slug rounds, and then just walked out as if it was nothing. I did all of this and I am not one of the people you need to worry about on this moon."

John looked into the Pantoran woman's eyes for a moment as he let what he had just done and said sink in. He didn't care if this broke her. If she couldn't handle this much then she never should have set foot on Nar Shaddaa. He said in the whisper after he judged enough time had past, " There will be no tea either. This is a bar. Order a drink. Don't stand out, don't act like you have anything worth even a single credit, and don't pretend like your daddy can get you out of everything. We all die eventually, Princess, and Nar Shaddaa gets you there sooner."

[member="Priscilla Genesis"]