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Post by Eliana Shan on Sept 17, 2013 15:34:56 GMT -8
Again he stretched out his senses towards her, and again her visor sent up an alert, eliciting a chuckle from her.
"That won't help you."
She turned her head to her right to look at him, her face an impenetrable mask, even over the edge of the Tatooine Sunrise she was still enjoying. After her next sip of her drink, she set the glass down on the bar, and her features rearranged themselves subtly into a mask of seeming disappointment. Inside, though, she was heartily amused.
"You want to read me, you're going to have to use your eyes, not your mind. But then, I suspect you already have."
The disappointment gave way to a knowing smile, before she picked up her drink and turned back towards the doorway. She took another swig, then moved her glass around in a gesture meant to encompass not just herself, but the whole Café istelf.
"What do you see?"
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Haytham
Member
Posts: 23 
Affiliation: To be determined
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Haytham on Sept 20, 2013 12:48:04 GMT -8
The only outward sign of Haytham's surprise was an upraised eyebrow. Drinking deeply from his mug to stall for time, the mercenary wondered at this girl. Not only was she invisible through the force, but she could tell he'd been probing her? Again, he knew she wasn't simply concealing her presence. He was quite skilled in that particular art, and was confident he would've recognized the few tell-tale signs that accompanied such a thing. Yet no other explanation made sense."You want to read me, you're going to have to use your eyes, not your mind. But then, I suspect you already have." "Alright." "You're at ease here, either because it's familiar or because you think you can handle yourself. I'm guessing it's a combination of both. You know everyone here, and some of them think they know you too, but they don't. You're tech savvy, and I bet you're quite the slicer, too. You're observant as well, though I can't tell if it's the result of formal training or you're just talented. So you're an information broker, right?" Giving a satisfied nod, Haytham went to take a celebratory drink only to realize his ale was gone. Setting the empty mug back down, he gestured for the bartender to approach. "Get me another, will you?"
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Post by Eliana Shan on Sept 22, 2013 10:58:35 GMT -8
She smiled, draining her glass and setting it on the bar. "Another here as well. Both on me."
She had never had any qualms about buying drinks for strangers; Force knew she had more credits than she knew what to do with. She returned her attention to the man, a grin forming on her face.
"Good. Correct on all accounts." She was not specific on which of the options he had given were correct, and she knew full well that he would pick up on that. Oh, but she did enjoy stringing people along, making them dance to her tune. She suspected, though, that he might pick up on that as well; and if he did, she wondered whether he would still go along with it, or throw her for a loop.
She, too, was having fun.
"Now then. Let's focus on you. To start with, you take great pride in your powers of observation; thus, it's your first time here in the Meltdown Café. You're a Force-sensitive Sorrussian, you're bored with your most recent jobs -- many of which include violence -- and you can handle yourself with a bit of average tech, but nothing even close to the big leagues.
"Lastly -- and this part is my favourite -- you have absolutely no idea why you can't sense me, yet I'm still able to know when you try."
Some of that had been obvious. Some of it had been practical assumptions. Some of it -- the correlation between his powers of observation making it his first time here -- seemed quite farfetched. But she knew that she was right, and the confident grin never once left her face.
"How am I doing so far?"
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Haytham
Member
Posts: 23
Affiliation: To be determined
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Haytham on Oct 5, 2013 14:48:48 GMT -8
The youth's crooked smile grew as the bartender set another mug of lomin ale before him. Well, he'd never had any trouble taking what was offered to him, that was for sure. 'Still,' he mused jovially. 'You're a player. A better one than I, as well. I'll have to be careful around you...Alena.' Oh, this wasn't his first visit to Nar Shadaa- although she was right, it was his first visit to the Meltdown. You didn't have to be from this part of town to know who she was, though. In fact, Haytham would've been surprised if there were a single person on this force-forsaken moon that didn't know the name. Most would never expect this little slip of a girl, though, and he suspected she was fully aware of that and used it to her advantage.
He took a drink, then set his mug back down and pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his vest.
"Almost perfectly," Feigning a look of wounded pride, Haytham plucked a cigarette from the pack. "I like to think I'm rather good with tech." At that his expression dissolved into one of amusement and he lit up, taking a deep drag that he drowned with another pull from his ale.
"So, now that we're so well acquainted, I guess the only things left are our names."
He gestured at her with the pack of cigarettes, offering her one, then set it on the bar. Idly he wondered just how she'd deduced his Sorrussian heredity, but decided it wasn't a pressing question. He'd ask later, if the opportunity arose. For now, he was enjoying their game too much to let anything spoil it.
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Post by Eliana Shan on Oct 6, 2013 10:20:36 GMT -8
Well acquainted?
She raised an eyebrow at him slightly, at the same time as her own drink arriving. The phrase which had prompted the raising of said eyebrow remained a mystery, however, as she raised up her right hand, her thumb held to her middle finger.
"I never do manage to get it perfectly. One of the flaws of being me," she said quietly, looking up at the ceiling, off to one side, turning her head away to disguise the movements. After a few seconds, she looked back at him. "Fine, you're rather good with tech. But unless you can do this.."
She snapped her fingers, and the lights went out in the Café, and in the entire surrounding level, if the collective groan of citizens plunged into darkness was any indication.
"..while forsaking the Force, and can set it all back again.."
She snapped the fingers on her right hand again, and light was once again restored to the establishment, to reveal the customers sighing and shaking their heads. Power outages were common here, whether or not they knew she was around, and no one had been able to figure out what was causing them. Alena smiled; it was good to rule.
"Then you don't really compare." She offered him a playful wink, then picked up her drink from the counter and knocked it back in a single go, before pulling a cigarette from the offered pack.
She had realized as soon as she had said it that she may have revealed more of herself than she had intended. "While forsaking the Force," she had said, not "without using the Force." To forsake meant to give up, implying more about her than she had ever planned any of the moon's denizens to know. She hoped, however, that the light show would serve as just enough of a distraction to keep him from noticing or thinking too much about it.
She doubted that it would, however.
"I'm Alena. And you are?"
She held the cigarette up in her right hand, holding her left hand close to it. It wasn't the first time she had done this, so she had experience with the rather difficult maneuver. She closed the thumb and middle finger of her left hand and snapped them, and a single spark came out.. falling right onto the tip of the cigarette, in just the right spot for it to light up. It was a 250,000:1 chance, and she had managed it more than her fair share of times. And all, again, without using the Force at all.
She took a long drag and smiled at him, content.
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Dec 23, 2013 9:57:38 GMT -8
The bar was seedy, but not as seedy as something she would have seen in New Vertica or the Refugee Sector, not that it mattered where she was. She looked rough, sleep was something that eluded her tired mind, her forearm and hand still tingling as she clenched a fist then released it in an attempt to ease the blood through her veins and take the edge off the sensation. It had been months since the feeling began and it pushed her to find the pieces to the puzzle. That lead her here. She had paid dearly to track that Mandalorian vessel. It landed in New Vertica but the footage of the crew had them all over the place. They had left quickly but Anya had found plenty of other reasons to stay.
Apparently her mother had some loose ties to trade through Nar Shaddaa. The vile woman still lived, her cruelty and depravity hidden behind her carefully crafted image. It was a farce but Anya would not risk that woman's wrath unless she was certain she had a chance. It also meant she had to keep her inquiries very quiet, very back channels. She needed a shaman, she needed a scholar. She needed someone who could tell her if this curse could be reversed. But first, she needed an alias. That brought her to this dive bar, money in her pocket with only a name to go on.
It didn't take long before the Devaronian found her, ushering her from her spot at the bar to a private booth where their voice would not be overheard. The work was impressive; new name, new passport, licenses, birth records, and bank records. The work was more than enough for the price she had paid and the credit chips in her pocket found their way into the red skinned hand of her savior. She could feel a freedom as she held the new "her" in her hands, a weightlessness she had not felt since the death of her daughter. She would have revenge but broke and stuck on Nar Shaddaa, she needed money first.
The Devaronian had a tip and sent her to find a smuggler by the name of Adrien Draykon. He would pay well for skilled crew and if Anya was as skilled as she was pretty, the Devaronian assured her that this Adrien would not disappoint. Anya tucked the documents and datapad away and moved to rise from booth but found a thick leg blocking her escape as her savior gave into his devilish appearance and suggested that the advise wasn't free and there was something she could do to show his appreciation. Gesturing to the back of the bar, she lead him through the kitchen and out to an alley way where she let him slam her against the wall, his tongue flicking at her ear as he took in her scent. He never saw the glint of metal in her hand before she used her "touched" hand to move a little quicker, bringing the very sharp blade to his throat. He backed off after her ultimatum and she kneed him in the junk before she disappeared into the night, wondering how she was going to find this Adrien Draykon.
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor 
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Jan 5, 2014 0:09:39 GMT -8
Four large men burst through the door of a run down pub and into the streets carrying a man who they throw into the street, violently. He rolls a few times before coming to a stop on his stomach, where he lays for a few seconds to gather his thoughts before pushing himself up off the ground. His long hair hanging down over his face as he brings himself to his knees and then sits back on his feet, revealing a few semi-serious lacerations on his face which are bleeding quite profusely. And as the men begin to walk back toward the bar he chuckles to himself, obviously still a little woozy from the beating he had just taken. "Had enough already? I was just gettin' started." He smiled again showing his bloody teeth to the men as they turned around and he spit at them and chuckled again as they came at him one more time. It was bit cliche and he knew it but he couldn't resist, holovid buff and all, especially the action ones.
He counted their steps as they walked toward him closing the distance, he needed to move quickly while they thought he was drunk and broken and his wounds had already started to heal.
Once they had surrounded him he looked up as one of them drew back his fist for a knock out blow and with a cocky grin he rolled forward and to the right causing the punch to miss and the man stumble into one of the others. The cocky smuggler followed through with his roll landing on his feet and backed against the wall of the bar. Fortunately for him these guys weren't only slow, they were stupid, and one came at him with a wild swing which was quickly dodged resulting in a broken hand, "Easy big fella, bone usually doesn't fare to well against durasteel." He said with a laugh as the man wailed in pain grasping his hand.
His taunt was ill-placed however, allowing another one of them catch up to him and grab him from behind, squeezing his bones in a vicious bear hug. This allowed for the two who had fallen into each other to gain their footing once again and come at him as well. He had to time this perfectly or his last stand would come to an end very suddenly. The same as before drew back and took his swing as the captive smuggler jerked his head back smashing the nose of the his constrictor, breaking his nose along with his anaconda-like vise thus freeing the smuggler and causing yet another punch to miss its mark, instead hitting the second man and knocking him out cold. Two down, two to go.
As he landed on the ground after being released, a quick but ambitious jab to the groin from the smuggler took one another one out of commission for a moment, albeit a brief moment, and that simply meant that he had to act quickly while the odds were even. As the fourth man came at him the smuggler took a swing at his face, hitting his mark but ultimately not affecting his attacker the way he had hoped and he received a blow across the face in return, dropping him to the ground a few paces back from where he had been standing.
It was lucky for him however, had he not been knocked down he would have been shot by the man with the broken hand. His return to the fight was not something that the captain had anticipated, nor was the blaster he had fired, but it had served a good purpose. In the fortunate series of events the man who had just punched him was now on is back, possibly dead, from the blaster fire which meant that at least one of these guys wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon.
However, the one he had punched in the groin was now back and more angry than ever. In a fluid motion the smuggler was picked back up and thrown into the wall where he fell momentarily before a attempted to pick himself back up again. He was however, picked up once again and slammed against the wall, now cornered by two very angry, very large men, one of them with his pudgy fingers on the trigger of a blaster pointed at the smuggler's head.
"Wait!" He held up his hands for them to stop as he possibly feigned fear, or perhaps it was genuine, hard to tell really, "Just wait..." He stealthily clicked his foot on the ground causing a blade to spring out just in time for the thug holding him against the wall to ask 'For what?' to which the pinned smuggler replied, "This." And with a swift kick he kicked the man in the already sore groin and was immediately dropped, but he had to move quickly as the other one was already firing his blaster, albeit poorly.
Quickly the smuggler took cover at the edge of the building, unfortunately he didn't have a blaster to return fire, but what he did have was a angry enemy that was on edge, and that is something he would use to his advantage. Quickly he looked around for something small enough to throw but large enough to make a significant enough noise to be distracting. It didn't take long of course, being outside a bar it was easy for him to find a discharged liquor bottle. He grabbed it and waited a minute before throwing it onto the roof of the establishment, which caused the thug to think he had gotten on the roof for some sort of surprise attack from above.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for, using the distraction he quickly and silently slipped out of cover and to another location, the distraction wouldn't last long so he needed to have the element of surprise when attempting to take down this last foe. And as the man realized that nothing was on the roof he started to walk out and away from the bar reading to fire as soon as he could see around the corner, fortunately for our smuggler friend, the brute had not seen him move from A to B and was focusing all of his attention to the corner causing him to inadvertently walk right in front of the new hiding place with his back turned. This allowed the smuggler to quickly pop out with another bottle which he shoved into the back of the large man, mimicking the barrel of a blaster, "Drop the blaster and step forward ten paces, or you're dead where you stand."
Begrudgingly the man complied, an opportunity the smuggler used to walk up and grab the only blaster in play and train it on his foe. It wasn't until the man turned around that he realized that he had been duped, seeing the smuggler standing there with a bottle in one hand and a blaster in the other. 'Who are you?' The big guy asked, now not only impressed, but sufficiently scared. The smuggler simply smiled and shrugged, "I've got a lot of names I go by, the one you're probably most familiar with is Adrien Draykon," he tossed the bottle up, flipping it so the neck was now in his palm as the last of his wounds visually healed for all present to see, "the Smuggler King." With that he threw the bottle, hitting the man square between the eyes dazing him enough to cause him to black out for a moment and fall to the ground. "And I'm back in the game, tell your friends."
He tucked the blaster into his belt and started to walk away, his lines were cheesy and he knew it, but it was fun being back in the game. And even more fun knowing that he was well on his way to winning it again, all he needed was a crew.
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Jan 8, 2014 15:54:24 GMT -8
It had taken her a little bit of time to get used to being called Leeza, but she found herself getting more and more familiar with it. She left her past behind in the alley that night, moved boarding houses, started looking for this Adrien Draykon character after she ran a holo search on him of course. There were a few hits on the name around the place and she figured the one she was looking for the entry listed as a smuggler who frequented bars on Nar Shaddaa. Perfect. She memorized his picture, and drifted around picking up courier stuff just to get some extra cash. She kept her eyes peeled on every pickup and every drop, but she never caught sight of the Smuggler King. Maybe she was being a little too passive with her search.
Leeza started drinking in a couple bars a night, spreading out in a larger and larger area, quietly asking if anyone had seen the man or knew where to find him. Most of them hadn’t seen him in ages, some had no answer for her, just nervous glances. It was costing her a bit to get a line on him, heavy tips here and there to figure out where he liked to frequent, should he happen to be on Nar Shaddaa. It was starting to feel futile, and she was running out of places to check. Next, New Vertica. And then what? She didn’t want to think past that at the moment.
She had just finished off another drop when she turned into a little dive around the corner from the place and headed for the bar. The guy behind the counter gave her the once over or at least it looked like that from where she was sitting. She ordered a drink and looked around as nonchalantly, while the barkeep mixed her a blue concoction that looked like something used to clean dental tools. She slid a large credit chip across to him when he set the drink in front of her, his other hand reaching to take it from her only to find it firmly in her grasp as she levels him with a serious gaze. “Looking for Adrien Draykon. Know where I can find him?” The dark haired man shook his head and she released the chip, relaxing her shoulders and picking up the drink. Another dead end. The bar wasn’t really to her tastes, the dancers were damn near naked and the floor was crowded with men leering for a show. Leeza wasn’t showing off any skin to this crowd and she left the half-finished drink on the bartop, cutting through the din of the cantina to the door.
It was late and she was tired from running around for Gree, a small time hutt who was trying to break into something bigger. He paid decent, his jobs were quiet and he didn’t care what happened to Leeza. If she showed up, he put her to work. If not, he found someone else to run his deliveries. Might as well run a couple more.
She stepped out into the streets, getting her bearings before she moved on up the way. It was a nice night she supposed, there was too much grime and too many lights to see the skies but somewhere up there were stars and heavens and worlds looking down on her. She was looking up just the same when she ran into the back of a man standing in a crowd while a scuffle happened in the street. She couldn’t see much of the fist fight happening but when a blaster made an appearance, the people on the street ducked for cover. In the ensuing chaos, she managed to catch a glimpse of one of the fighters and she felt a ripple of excitement. It looked like this Draykon fellow.
She watched from a safe distance as he fought off his attackers, impressed with his prowess and yes, even his corny lines. He didn't seem to take the circumstances seriously. At least not seriously enough to dampen his sense of humor. He headed up the street in her direction and she knew that this was as good a time as any for an introduction. As he passed where she was standing, she chuckled and flashed the smile that she was known for. "This sort of thing happen to you often?"
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Jan 11, 2014 18:00:20 GMT -8
His attention was immediately diverted from his path to the direction the voice came from, where his eyes fell upon a smiling woman, Nice smile. Pretty eyes. She seems out of place here. He thought to himself as he gave her the once over and continued to walk past her, returning her smile with his signature cocky, confident smiles. "More often than you'd think." A short answer said in passing and accompanied with a wink.
He was however left wondering what exactly she was doing here, but based on her enthusiastic smile towards him he made a few guesses, Bounty hunter? No, not enough armor or visible weapons. Assassin? Maybe, but the usual suspects have been quiet recently. Wait. Could she be...an ex?...I think I'd prefer an assassin, that could at least get hot and probably less painful. He stopped and turned to face her, "Hey Brown Eyes, you wanna go get a drink somewhere?" Now that he had gotten a better look at her she definitely looked familiar, but he couldn't place her, maybe she was an ex, Damn... He'd have to make the best of it.
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Jan 11, 2014 19:38:05 GMT -8
"Best offer I've had all night." She kicked off from where she was leaning on the wall and strode up the street to catch up with him. She wondered if he was going to leave her there but curiosity was turning the gears in his mind, she could see it from where she stood. There was charisma in that crooked grin, he was going to be a hand full, but nothing she couldn't handle. She walked on past him with an incline of her head, her long brown tresses moving softly in the evening breeze. "You pick the place, I'll buy." A couple steps more up the street and she turned up the charm herself, a smile and wink accompanying her words. "And no, I ain't looking to add to your troubles. I'm Leeza."
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Jan 18, 2014 13:11:01 GMT -8
"Yeah I've heard that before." He mumbled to himself before he caught up with her. Though her whether she was being truthful or not wasn't a concern of his, not really anyway, she intrigued him somehow and he wanted to know what it was about here that caught his eye. She was beautiful; she knew him, perhaps not personally but it wasn't a coincidence that she was there to meet him; and now she was paying for his drinks and at a bar of his choosing, which something about that told Adrien that it was an attempt to gain his trust. All of which were good signs that she was either hunting him or she wanted something, but still he took the bait for curiosity's sake. He knew it was dangerous to go and that's what made it fun, besides he wasn't one to turn his back on danger. When she introduced herself he thought quickly about the name, Leeza? Doesn't ring any bells, he shrugged it off mentally, still, doesn't mean I don't know her from somewhere. He smiled and looked at her, "Adrien, of course you already knew that." His tone was filled with all the self-centric arrogance and vanity of a narcissist, whether it be for her benefit, his, or any eavesdropping ears remained to be seen. As they turned the corner Adrien said, "Straight ahead." pointing to a small establishment with a single blue light on the outside. The little spot was one of Adrien's favorites and one that he had had his eye on to purchase at one point when he had businesses here in the Corellian Sector. As they approached the building Adrien paced out ahead and activated the door and walked in, taking a look around the dark room focusing his hi-sense eyes to low-light conditions to assess any possible threats, all clear, he thought as he held up to fingers to the bartender then walked to a booth and took a seat after receiving a friendly nod.
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Jan 18, 2014 21:12:16 GMT -8
The Blue Light was a place that she had tried before and when she saw the friendly nod from the barkeep at Adrien, she figured that she got the runaround from him for good reason. It looked like Adrien was ordering for the both of them, her curiosity peaked. Anything could show up in front of her, and for the sake of this introduction she hoped it wasn't scotch. The place was dark and it wasn't doing anything to make her feel at ease. Someplace this dark would allow him to pull a piece on her or worse, end her right there. His reputation might have included a lot of things but cold blooded murder wasn't one of them to her knowledge.
She kept her hands on the table, fingers knitted together. Her dark brown eyes were searching; for answers, for clues, for some sign that she wasn't about to be killed and left in an alley somewhere. He knew she had been looking for him, so she figured it wouldn't do any good to deny it. She broke the silence between them while they waited for the arrival of the drinks. "I've been looking for you for quite sometime. Rumor has it that you take new crew members from time to time. I'd like to join up."
The bartender brought over two glasses with a liquor she couldn't immediately identify by sight, it was too dark. It was potent enough to strip the finish off a table by the smell of it. She pulled a large credit chip from her belt pouch and slid it over to the barkeep. He tucked it away and slinked back to the bar while she wrapped her fingers around the glass. She lifted the glass to him, a sly smirk on her lips before she tasted the drink before her. The liquor set her throat a blaze with the punch of alcohol tinged with the sweet edge of the aging and craftsmanship but she tried not to let the weight of taste show in her eyes. "I'm hoping you need a pilot, but if not, I have..." An arched eyebrow punctuated her comment. "Other skills."
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Jan 19, 2014 18:35:56 GMT -8
Honesty? That was unexpected, he assumed that she would say something about him announcing who he was or try some sort of flattery like 'Who doesn't know Adrien Draykon?' But instead she surprised him, kudos to her, that doesn't happen often. Not as surprising but more impressive is the way she handled her drink, fearless and looking to impress. "You really had no idea what that drink was do you? You realize I could have given you anything in that glass right? Anything. Could be a Reactor Core or even a Starshine Surprise. Guess you'll have to find out when it hits you, should be any moment now." He said in a somewhat ominous tone. He stared at her with a devilish grin, purposefully not touching his drink. He let a several seconds pass by in silence as he watched her from the other side of the table with his arms crossed. And he let the silence remain to the point where it may be uncomfortable for her and then he laughed with a genuine smile, "I'm just messin' with you. It's Dorian Quill," he said as he leaned forward and took up his glass, and took a generous swig then placed it back on the table, "one of my favorites." He leaned back and scratched the whiskers on his chin as he appraised her, wondering what 'other skills' she might have that would be of interest to him which he of course used his imagination to conjure an idea. "A pilot huh?" He thought for a moment, letting out an long soft 'uhhhhh' before shrugging, "there's alotta captains 'round here that could use a good pilot." He picked up his drink and took another sip, "There a particular reason you're lookin' to fly with my crew?" |
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Jan 20, 2014 16:56:03 GMT -8
A dark room and a couple of glasses with some unknown liquor was bringing her back to days long past and just like before she displayed her cool as he quipped that he could have served ordered up something that would leave her incapacitated and vulnerable to attack. But it didn't smell like either of the things he had mentioned so she let the silence drag out testing him as much as he tested her. It was an interesting game between them but the stillness was broken by his grin. He reminded her of someone she knew once, a roguish smile and a cavalier attitude to life.
He was likable which was a bonus as this was as much an opportunity for her to him as him to meet her. If he was a detestable scoundrel, she wouldn't want to serve with him but on the other hand, if he was merely a scoundrel, it was something she could live with. He seemed to have a good sense of humor so far. She had not laughed in the presence of a man since she dated Wanderer.
She tilted her glass towards her to examine its contents, thinking of how she wanted to word her answer to him. It wasn't a matter of lying, there were genuine reasons she wanted this job, this captain. Honesty seemed to be working so far. Well, except for her name of course. "Three reasons really. Your reputation precedes you, your resources are vast and I'm not talking about money, although I'm sure you're not hurting for it."
She met his eyes as she took another sip of the quill. "I'm looking to get a foothold in the business and I gotta start somewhere. Might as well learn from the best." She set the glass down empty, looking subtly to the barkeep to see if she should get another round before she looked back to him.
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Feb 6, 2014 1:44:08 GMT -8
Adrien sat cool on the other side of the table, his right arm resting on the table with his hand lightly grasping his glass, spinning it in circles in the runoff from the dew. Her body language didn't tell him much outside of the fact that she was confident and she knew what she wanted. And her answer, he knew, would go in one of two ways given that she had been looking for him specifically; there was the coy, but flirtatious answer which was typically the favorite among female bounty hunters looking to get closer to him through his more...primal urges, and then of course there was the preferred method, flattering his ego. It was true, Adrien's favorite subject was Adrien, he was impressive and he liked knowing that people knew it. Flattery was also preferable when being approached by potential crew members, having been down the other road with former crew members and knowing where that road leads. She had certainly done her homework.
What was less expected was her straight forward, no bantha dung approach mixed in with her not needed but well received compliments. He liked her, but he certainly didn't trust her. He didn't trust anyone that seemed to be completely honest, they were always hiding something. Liars were more reliable, you always knew there was something they weren't telling you.
He appraised her for a moment, before he broke eye contact for the first time with a short breath of laughter and a smirk on his lips, checking the door with a glance as it opened and then returning his sights to her, "The best?" He shrugged smugly, "I don't like to brag," he did, "but the numbers don't lie. And I ain't never been caught," he lifted his glass to his lips as he mumbled, "technically...," quietly enough not to be heard over the general bar conversation, before taking his finishing his drink and placing it at the edge of the table, "can't say the same for my nearest competition."
He shifted his weight to get a little more comfortable in his seat and then he looked her up and down once, the gears in his head obviously turning as he visably chewed on his next thought while the waitress came by with another round for him taking the emptied glass with a smile and a more than friendly eye contact between the two, mostly on her end of course. He inhaled deeply and nodded, "Alright, you've got your shot." He waited for her initial reaction before interrupting with an addendum, "If you can tell me, what is the one thing a smuggler values above all else." A simple question, with a simple answer for those who live the life. A question that separates the posers from the true fringers.
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Feb 10, 2014 17:46:37 GMT -8
"Tricky question." She let the fleeting pass of a beguiling smile cross her lips as she let the moment sit. She wanted this, no doubt and there was more than one answer to that question. At least as far as she knew, that is. She remembered a lesson from her youth, about perception and point of view. Everyone assumes that smugglers value coin over everything, that they were in the biz purely for the profits. Which were considerable, indeed. But what did a true outlaw value most? She'd heard two answers to that question trolling these bars and cantinas, looking for him. The real question was which answer did he want to hear?
The barkeep set down a fresh drink for each of them and she reached for it first, needing it to wet her throat. It seemed very tight and dry all of a sudden as she made a decision about the answer she would give. The glass clinked against the tabletop as she set it down, done sizing him up for the answer to give. Either he would accept it or he wouldn't. "Well, it isn't money. I've seen spacers walk away from lucrative jobs if the details weren't to their liking. It isn't the fame, most don't even have a name in this game, present company excluded of course. That leaves 2 things that I have seen a man fight for. His ship and his freedom. But not everyone has a ship to call their own, I certainly don't so that leaves freedom. The freedom to choose their own fate, no master, no boss. No ordinary life, no strings, no cages. I've seen spacers lose ships, money and fancy things with a carefree smile, but none of them have ever willingly given up the control of their lives to Republic laws, Hutt whims or Imperial patrols. So there's your answer, Captain."
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Feb 11, 2014 0:13:33 GMT -8
The brief moment of silence as she thought on her answer told Adrien everything he really needed to know, that she actually wanted what she said she wanted plain and simple. Not that he didn't care what her answer was, he did, but these things can always be taught to those who want this life badly enough. In truth he never expected her to get the answer right, few people ever did. The most common answer was always riches, people tend to think that because smugglers live outside the law that their entire world revolves around the almighty credit or peggats or any number of riches. So when riches were mentioned in her answer he wasn't surprised, nor was he surprised by the mention of fame.
Not all smugglers rose to fame and fortune of course, Adrien had, but it was never his intention. Fame was either a smuggler's best friend or worst enemy, or perhaps it was both. With fame you were sought after, it brought work, potential crew members, even some VIP perks, but on the other side to the coin fame painted a target on your back, it brought pirates, law enforcement, bounty hunters, and all manner of trouble to your door. Most would hate the thought of fame, but Adrien found it exciting.
But neither of those were the answer to his question. It wasn't until she had narrowed her list down to two, a ship and freedom, and with her deductive reasoning came a subtle smile from Adrien. He hadn't expected her to even get this far, she showed promise. More than anyone he had met in a long time. And then she finally came to her answer--
Freedom. A smuggler's salvation, nothing in the galaxy matters more, nothing can replace it. A smuggler can have everything in the 'verse; money, women, a fast ship, a first rate crew, unrivaled fame, but it all means nothing without freedom. A smuggler loves his freedom, he needs it, he must protect it, and at the same time he must risk it to do he needs to. No sweeter feeling than escaping my the skin of your teeth and none more terrifying, it's a thrill that can't be simply explained, but one that needs to be experienced to truly understand.
She had surprised him yet again, and so thoroughly impressed him. He hadn't even noticed the pleased smile growing on his lips until he reached out to take his glass up. Pinching it between his finger he lifted his glass to her and game a shallow nod, "Welcome aboard." he said as his smile formed fully, even bearing teeth this time.
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Post by Theophania del'Arte on Feb 11, 2014 15:33:42 GMT -8
"Now that's out of the way, what am I flying and when do I need her to be ready by?" She wanted to be punctual for whenever he wanted to go, whether it was a run or bouncing around looking for work. She wanted to be useful and she wanted to prove that he had not chosen poorly when he gave her a chance. She wanted to do well so that she could figure out her next move, where she needed to go and who she needed to see so that she could reclaim what was lost and pay the guilty party back in kind. More importantly, and perhaps on a more subconscious level, she needed a close circle of people and a purpose. She had been lost and listless for so long now, she had forgotten about anything except the deep aching loss. Given new focus with the search for this man, she had found herself a little less dreary every day. She needed a job and a reason to get out of bed or it was all just a waste of time, ticking towards chaos.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 23:41:17 GMT -8
Fenrir eased power back from the engines, before engaging the repulsorlifts to use to bring the a-wing down through the moons atmosphere towards the designated landing pad. The a-wing's landing gear extended moments before the craft touched down and Fenrir hopped out of the starfighter. As the Warg looked out over the Corellian Sector of Nar Shaddaa, he already knew his work would be cut out for him, especially considering he was looking for pretty much one man in a city planet of roughly 85 billion.
But he wouldn't klet that discourage him, he just needed to ask the right questions, bribe the right people, and obtain the correct information. He would be able to track down Adrien here, especially if the man had resumed his smuggling operations. It wasn't to say everyone knew everyone here, but someone like Adrien drew a lot of attewntion to himself, which would make Fenrir's hunt here just that little bit more easier
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Adrien Draykon
Retired High Councilor
The Smuggler King
Posts: 720
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Adrien Draykon on Feb 21, 2014 22:22:57 GMT -8
"Wayfarer class medium transport. I'll take you to her once," he picked up his drink and downed it in a few gulps rather than sipping, "you've finished your drink." He did a slashing motion across his neck to the bartender signaling that they were done and needed their check.
He was starting to get eager to leave. For a man like him, lingering in one place too long was asking for trouble. He was a high profile smuggler, and that meant two things, he had enemies on both sides of the law, and attention was easily drawn his way. Not the greatest combination to have on a place like Nar Shaddaa. His street fight didn't exactly help matters, nor did his boastful announcement. But of course he had friends here that could protect him when he was in a tight spot.
"Once we're on board you can fire her up, and haul jets off this rock. You can have the grand tour once we're seeing lines."
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