Another opening, another profit...

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra had made a tidy little piece selling off the last load. It wasn't her fault if someone lost a load of spice and she had found it.
Walking into her second favorite cantina on Tatooine with her cred chip nearly full made ordering her favorite drink all the easier.
"I'll have a Nectar Wine. Over at that table." Zondra nodded her head in the direction of a booth in a corner where she had a full view of the rest of the room. She didn't plan on getting drunk, but in her line of work, it always paid to see who was coming at her first.
She made her way to the table, and noted it was relativiely well lit. The cool lights made the white walls glow and increased the luminescence incredibly.
She slid into the booth and pulled out her datapad with the latest info on cargo loads and news from the core downloaded already.
Looking up when the server came to her table, she noted any new patrons that had entered and where they were sitting. Before the server left she ordered a bantha burger platter.
Changing the listings on her datapad, she decided to check for the costs of ship upgrades. Weapons specifically and possibly a sensor mask as well. She shrugged to herself and figured, 'what the hell, she might be able to afford it this time.'
She might get lucky and have someone pay her up front for a run. But that was like asking a Jedi to suddenly appear and ask her for a date.
She smiled and chuckled at the image and continued to scan the lists.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Anger radiated from the tall blonde woman who entered the cantina, in waves that put the oppressive heat of Tatooine to shame. Heatedly shoving the batwing doors aside so that they slammed against the clayplast walls with a satisfying thunk, she ignored the curious looks she received from the patrons as she made her way to the bar. Last time I space my cargo for such a stupid reason...

For Sam, spacing cargo wasn't easy, not in a YT-2400. Having never upgraded Thera beyond a few personal, internal customizations, the ship's only exit points were the escape pods and the loading ramp. Spacing anything meant physically shoving it out, via any means neccessary. Frakking pirates. That spice was worth a lot. But it wasn't the money she cared about. She'd known the instant she did it that it was a mistake, and that was what irritated her the most. Because Sam never made mistakes. Never misjudged a situation.

This time, she had.

And now she was out here on Tatooine, a hole of a planet that she absolutely detested.

"Dodbri whiskey, if you've got it," she said as she fixed the bartender with her hard gaze, all but daring him to refuse her.

[Kayla2004]

Kayla fell like bantha poodoo.

Her ship, the Ka'rane, had a dammaged Nav computer. It was going to cost her hundreds of credits to get it fixed, not to mention put a delay on her trip to Corellia. Great. With her fleshy lekku trembling with inner rage, Kayla'Tu walked under the blazing twin suns of tantooine, a turquise blue female Twi'Lek of earthreal beauty and grace. Giving some human male onlookers a look that would have made a rancor pause, Kayla finally reached her destination, a cantina that she would always visit whenever she was onplanet, having come to Tatooine before on past Hunts. For some reason or another Tatooine was famous for being the best place to hide when you don't want to be found. Considering the heat Kayla found that rather hard to understand.

True her homeworld, Ryloth, was no paradise but at least it wasn't this hot! Cursing in her native tongue, Kayla entered the cantina, almost sighing out in relief to be out of the blazing heat. Walking over to the bar Kayla gave the cantina's occupants a quick glare, her two blasters in her hip hoster evidant. She was not in the mood to be aproached by some some drunk male and asked to dance. Just because she was a Twi'Lek does not mean men must treat her like a piece of meat!

"A Corellian brandy." she said morosely to the bartender, leaning agaisnt her hand as it rested on the bar table, apsently stroaking one of her blasters with the cool hand of a professsional, her lekku twitching slightly, nodding thanks when her drink came. Sipping it, Kayla glanced around, seeing a human female seated near her, her short yellow fur on her head as usual causing Kayla to nearly laugh. Human fur was so funny to look at! Seeing that the human female seemed to be sharing her bad mood, Kayla sniffed, molified. At least she wasn't the only one here in a bad mood.

Taking another sip, Kayla refoccused her steal eyes on the human, one lekku lazily drapped across her shoulder, twitching. "So what's your story?" she asked in accented basic, her tone drool and moody, raising a brow ridge, curious and wanting to get her mind off her intolerable situation.


OCC: Hope ya'll don't mind that I join in. :o

[Corran Antilles]

Traveling through hyperspace with an X-Wing was no fun. Corran felt that the muscles in his neck were cramped as he entered the bar, not sure if if was only from the journey or from the whole mission he and his squadron had finished. At least now he had shore leave.

This bar close to their base looked as good as any other in the galaxy. Drinks, girls, some fun. That was what Corran was looking for. He was dressed in casual clothes, no uniform, no lightsaber, but his blaster at his side. Better safe than sorry and in this dress he would fit into this place.

Corran walked slowly through the room and stopped in front of the barkeeper. "Corellian Ale." he ordered, his slight accent showing that he would recognize immediately if the ale would be from his home planet or not.

[Jerva Kutac]

Kutac walked into the cantina in Mos Eisley. The place looked like a dive, but a dive was what Kutac was looking for. He eyed the doors warily, then stepped through them. He hesitated a moment, allowing his vision to adjust to the dimness after the bright Tatooine suns. He sighed and walked over to the bar after briefly examining the other patrons.

Kutac slapped a five credit coin down on the bar and ordered a Corellian whiskey. He swirled the brown liquor in his glass and sighed. He had almost been arrested for smuggling a few days before, and he had nothing in his ship. Fortunately, he had been able to outrun the patrol ships, from the Coruscant system.

He sighed and stared at the whiskey some more. His week had just taked a turn for the worse, the whiskey was extremely vile.

[Zondra Declan]

(ooc: when it rains it pours..sorry for the delay in posting)

As Zondra looked at costs, out of the corner of her eye a woman came in and stormed immediately for the bar. Glancing up, she noted that if the woman had been a droid, some gasket or bearing would have blown loose. She was that ticked off to put it mildly.
The server came and deposited her platter, the smell of the meat and what passed for fries immediately woke her stomach that she though hadn't been hungry. The nectar wine was good, but nothing went down with a burger like a cola.
"I need a tall coke..with ice." She mentioned to the server before they left.
Arranging her food, and looking up before taking a bite, Zondra saw a few more patrons walk in. A Twi'lek of all beings, female from the dress, also stormed in.
Gee...must be a bad day for everyone but me.
Munching on her burger, the flavors combining in that wonderful way that just made the world right again, she sighed and looked around the cantina some more. The blue Twi'lek female attempted to take up a conversation with the blonde reactor core as two...gentlemen arrived, one after the other.
The first, with a confident but stiff walk, wandered over to the bar. She recognized the walk immediately, she had suffered from cramped quarters on a ship as well and it took a few hours of walking to work all the kinks out. When he ordered a Corellian Ale, Zondra's ears perked up and she put her burger down. A felllow Corellian...and not too shabby looking either. Definitely Corellian, but he had a cool attitude that she had seen in many bars that were near military installations. Pilot on leave. She wasn't looking for company, but having someoene else from her neck of the galaxy would be more entertaining than anything else that had just wandered in.
The second one sauntered to the bar as well, but his attitude just reeked of battle hardened military. That one she wouldn't even consider talking to. Her and military, especially hard core, never got along. Despite him ordering a Corellian whiskey as well, he was likely from some colony planet or mining belt.

The server brought her coke and Zondra washed down her mouthful with the sweet soda. Comfort food, nothing like it.
Her comlink beeped amazingly and she had to fumble for it so she didn't get grease or water on it as she pulled it out.
"Declan."
"Zondra, it's Lyr. Where are you located?" Lyr, her partner, must have finished securing their ship and dealing with his own business to be looking for her.
"I'm in our usual cantina. Want me to order anything for you ahead?"
"Thank you, no. I will order when I get there. I have some information that surfaced after I completed negotiations for some more crates. You will find it helpful I suspect. Lyr out."
Zondra raised her eyebrows at his cryptic message. He was good at finding out information, that was one reason why she had paired up with him. Although his side of the story had a different slant.
Putting away her comlink, she smiled remembering their first meeting in this very cantina no more than a year ago. Shaking her head and taking another bite of her burger, she marveled at how much had happened in the last year.

[Corran Antilles]

Corran sipped his ale, leaning against the bar while he was checking the patrons. He nodded to the man next to him, so drank his Corellian Whiskey. No bad choice for a drink. It was just a little too early daytime to order that.

Corran's look followed a female Twi'lek, who walked through the cantina. A smile played around his lips as some nostalgic thoughts appeared in his mind about an ex-girlfriend on Corellia, who had been a Twi'lek too.

The smell of food attracted his attention. A woman on the other side of the room was eating a meal, that looked delicious. Suddenly Corran's stomach grumbled. "Can I have one like that too?" he asked the barkeeper.

[Kayla2004]

Seeing that the human woman was not inclined to reply, Kayla sniffed and turned away. Humans, she thought to herself in disgust. Glaring at her drink, Kayla grabbed the cup and without further adieu chugged it down, quickly ordering another. Today had been a bad day and she intended of drinking enough booze to eventually have to pass out in her cabin for a day or so, maybe or maybe not with some male companionship.

Morbid and moodier then ever, Kayla got to her feet and made her way to a back table, sitting herself down and resting her two feet on a chair, pulling out a data pad and going over her list of repair shops that dealt in Corellian parts. Most didn't have the parts that she needed, since her ship, a YT-2000 frieghter, was considered a rare hybrid of some older classes. Indeed there were only five shops that in all of Mis Eisley spaceport that even had parts and most were in terrrible condition. Not a promising start. "Ugh, Noiji Tat, this is bad." she murmered to herself sadly.

The only other option she had was to hunt down a smuggler that dealt with parts or buy it off the black market... Sitting back in her chair, Kayla sighed, reaching upwards to stroke one of her lekku, deep in thought, sipping her drink every once in a while.

[Zondra Declan]

Almost finished with her food, Zondra called up more cargo lists on her datapad. It wouldn't hurt to start looking for another load. She didn't mind Tatooine for short stays, but if she stayed longer than about a couple of days, it started to eat into her baseline savings. Not a good thing.
Hmmph...not a heckuva lot going out right now. She thought to herself with a scowl after seeing slim listings.
Tatooine wasn't exactly the hub of the universe, no manufacturing to speak of, and not much in natural resources. If sand ever became the newest currency, they'd be millionaires.
The Twi'lek had moved to a table of her own and sullenly threw her feet up on a chair. Zondra didn't deal with Twi'lek much, they were scarce in the rest of the civilized universe and were more common on the outer rim still.
This one had the sullen and depressed attitude of any pilot faced with expensive repairs and low budget she herself had dealt with in the past.
Such was the way of the universe, ups and downs all around.
The human pilot at the bar had also ordered a platter as Zondra looked up. Hmmm...
Business or pleasure? Zondra decided to deal with business first and see what happened, then the reward might be more appreciated.


Entering the cantina with a squint, Lyr stepped into the cool interior and looked around, searching for his human partner.
Lyr was a Bothan male, of average height for his species and wearing a dark maroon hunters vest, with green trim and black pants. Finally finding the person he was looking for, he walked to where Zondra was sitting, scanning her datapad listings.
His fur rippled in echoes of nuetral emotions as he sat down at her booth. He was getting better at not showing his feelings in his fur. He figured it had to do with realizing there were others he came in contact with, including Zondra, that learned how to read his emotional state in his fur ripples.

Zondra looked up as he approached, and waited until he sat before talking.
"So..what did you find out?"

[Samantha Koortyn]

(Kayla, next time give me a little time. ;] )

Sam watched the bartender like a hawkbat as he went through the motions of looking for a bottle of the whiskey she'd requested -- she could already tell from his body language that he didn't have it. So occupied was she in contemplating the man's horrible demise that she never caught the question of the Twi'lek next to her, though she did notice her huffy demeanor as she left the bar.

Whatever, she thought with a shrug, then realized with more than a little surprise what the Twi'lek's retreat opened up in her line of sight at the bar -- her half-brother Corran.

"So," she said, extending a leg out and kicking the stool next to her into Corran's, jostling him, "come here often?"

[Corran Antilles]

Corran was surprised to meet his half-sister here. "Yeah," he answered, mischief in his eyes. "I don't know what brings me here every time...the cute smugglers around or this galaxy best fried tuber chips." He pointed to her and than to his plate, trying to look serious, but then he had to laugh.

"How are you, Sam?" Corran hugged his sister. "What are you doing here?"

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

Obiter walked into the cantina, and made strait for the nearest table. He wasn't thirsty, or hungry. He just wanted out of the Tatooine sun for a bit. He didn't like places like the cantina. These places were infested with bounty hunters. Hopefully his disguise would be enough protection in the dimly lit surroundings.
Obiter pulled the cowl down over his face a bit further, just to be certain.

Obiter removed his eye protection goggles and stowed them into a satchel on his side. He looked around cautiously. There were several humans, and a Twi'lek. It was not uncommon to see a Twi'lek on Tatooine, Ryloth was only a system or two away from here. Obiter tried not to stare.

He pulled out a data-pad and began to work. He just needed a few minutes, to catch his breath, go over some diagrams, and then he would leave. His eyes peeked out from under his hood once again, and looked more carefully at the Twi'lek. She was armed. Most Twi'leks, like himself, are passive. This one, apparently, was not.

Obiter suspected that the Twi'lek was probably a bounty hunter, and perhaps not the only one in the cantina. He switched off the data pad and moved to the far end of the room. He didn't want to immediately leave, that would look suspicious. So he ordered a Jawa juice, or something like that from the bar keep. It was a putrid concoction. Obiter was not a big drinker, he only ordered it to appear like a normal patron. He took the drink, and sat down. He sipped it, and that is when he noticed that his hands were trembling. Calm down he thought to himself.

[Kayla2004]

When the Twi'Lek male walked into the cantina, Kala felt her lekku twidge, shocked, her eyes going wide, choking on her drink before setting it down. Seeing a male Twi'lek here, on tatooine, was like seeing a bantha in drag. It just never happens. It had been practically a year since she had even seen one, having been raised by a human since the age of twelve on Coruscant. Her eyes glued to his form, Kayla watched him, her blue-gray eyes reading every move he made. Having been trained to be a dancer before being orphaned, Kayla had learned how to read body movement even better then most commen twi'leks.

Grinning a predatory grin at him, Kayla fluidly twitched her lekku in an dance of communication that no human could dream to understand, teasingly asking the male twi'lek if she made him nervous. And that was when she noticed the trembling hands. Not letting her confusion show in her teasing, inviting smile, Kayla observed the male twi'lek more closely, intriqued.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Sam hugged Corran back awkwardly; she was never comfortable touching people, not her half-brother or even Han most of the time. Not in public anyway...

"Happened to be in the area, thought I could land a quick job," she said in her usual shorthanded manner. Answering his question brought her frustration at having spaced her cargo to the forefront of her mind again, and she turned back to the bartender in annoyance. "I don't see a drink in front of me yet," she said ominously before returning her attention back to Corran.

"What about you? What are you doing out here?"

[Corran Antilles]

"The Rogues are on the base that's not far from here. I thought this would be a good place to relax before I have to write the missions reports." Corran answered, giving the bartender a wink. "Put the lady's drink on my bill too."

Corran hugged Sam again. "It's so good to see you. I missed you." Sam blushed as she feared for her reputation....

[Samantha Koortyn]

One hug had been more than enough; but the second time her half-brother hugged her was enough to make her distinctly more uncomfortable, and she blushed deeply, wondering what the other patrons would think. And his calling her a "lady" and buying her a drink... Sam cringed; it was all she could do not to grimace outwardly. Especially since she knew she made more as a smuggler than he could ever imagine as a New Republic Naval Captain.

"I missed you too," she answered curtly, before pulling away. Although she meant it, being in such close contact with people always activated her defenses, even when it was someone she'd come to know on a more personal level. Like Corran. She immediately felt guilty for her attitude, but didn't know how to voice her qualms, so she said nothing.

Trying to distract herself from the triple threat of her personal discomfort, the absence of the drink she'd ordered, and her annoyance at her circumstances, she panned around the cantina, watching the other patrons: the Twi'lek from before in a far corner, a human and a Bothan conversing, another Twi'lek hunched over his work, a guy with an eye patch... At least no one seems on the verge of starting a brawl, the blonde smuggler thought with relief.

[Zondra Declan]

They both paused and glanced at the reunion happening at the bar, Zondra noticed that the blonde was uncomfortable with the whole hugging thing and smirked to herself that she knew exactly how that felt.
Lyr started running down the bits of info that he had found out and started with something interesting.

"There was apparently another ship that had to dump their cargo and came in empty. I do believe it was that white haired human at the bar from what I saw, and heard." Lyr gave her the equivalent of a smile as he nodded in the direction of the bar.

"Well everyone gets boarded sometime. What was she carrying?"
Zondra took another sip of her coke and looked at the blonde again over the rim of her glass.

"It wasn't Imperials. It was pirates. And she had been carrying spice."

Zondra had just finished a swallow otherwise she might have choked on her drink.
"Whoa. She was running spice? I'd be ticked off about dropping that kind of load too! What kind of ship does she have?"

"A decent YT-2400. She had to shove that stuff out herself." Lyr looked up as the server came over and asked him for an order, "Rylan spiced ale."

Zondra looked closer at the various patrons in the cantina. Everyone had a story to tell, and she bet that in the short time that they had beent here, Lyr had picked up on most of their stories, and more that she hadn't seen.

"There's a fighter squadron stationed here now, but their behaving themselves for the most part. The female Twi'lek besides having a chip on her shoulder the size of a small moon, also motored into port with reason to be in a mood. She's looking for a Nav computer for her YT-2000 which is going to be difficult as you may guess."


Zondra looked at Lyr and raised her eyebrows acknowleging that she did know. They had a tough time sometimes finding lesser parts for their own Yt-1300. It was a common enough ship, which sometimes made the parts harder to find, since more people had them and needed parts.
It seemed this was the cantina for competition. As many smugglers and loners in this room than you could probably find in Nar Shadda.
That also meant higher cost for, and more competition for any cargos that were outbound.
Now it was Zondra's turn to have her mood turn dark. Great. They may be there longer than she had originally estimated.
Taking a deep sigh, she told Lyr to continue.

"Well, one of the local Hutts is throwing another party and it just happens they need an extra bartender for tonight."

Lyr gave her a knowing smile of sorts. Lyr's hobby was bartending and it had turned into a lucrative second source for personal cash for himself. Not to mention an excellent way of finding out more information. Especially about the Hutts here on Tatooine. He had worked a Hutt party before and it had given them a lead on a bounty hunter that had been on Zondra's tail.
Zondra gave him an exasperated look and threw her hands up, "What am I going to do with you? I can't land anywhere without you trotting off to schmooze with the Hutts." Her face broke into a big smile though and she sat back in her seat.
"Sure, who knows, they might have some special guest again we might be interested in."

Lyr's mood shifted from confused disappointment to pleased quickly at her staged reaction, and he had to actively keep his fur movement to a minimum.
He had his pride after all, and Bothans took pride in any job they did, but especially ones they were good at. Lyr was good at bartending and he excelled at information gathering, just as most Bothans were. His father had hoped he would become an actual member of the Bothan Spynet, but Lyr had taken a different path.

Zondra ordered a Corellian ale when the server delivered Lyr's drink, just to finish off her meal. She felt like relaxing for a bit, and since neither of them had to be anywhere soon, she could afford it for a change.

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

Obiter relaxed a bit, figuring if the bounty hunter had him in her sights, he would most likely be laying on the floor with a blaster hole in his chest by now. A rather loud conversation had begun with a human and a Bothan, whom Obiter had not immediately noticed before. A Bothan bartender. Obiter chuckled at the thought. He could imagine ordering a drink from him, and finding a clump of Bothan fur floating around in it. Disgusting.

Obiter noticed an affectionate meeting between two humans at the bar. How sweet. Humans for some reason seemed to enjoy clinging to each other the way mynocks cling to space craft. Obiter could not imagine twi'leks displaying affection in public this way. The female of the species seemed to withdraw too quickly from the embrace, apparently she felt uncomfortable. She looked around the room, and her eyes briefly glanced at Obiter.

Obiter stood up and noticed that one of his leeku was carelessly dangling out from beneath his cowl. Perfect. Obiter thought, as he tucked it away. He wondered how many in the cantina had seen that. The female at the bar most certainly did. So much for disguises. He turned to see the other Twi'lek chuckling to herself. Apparently she had seen through his disguise as well. Not that this disguise would have fooled her for long anyway, Twi'leks see very well in the dim light.

It is time to go, Obiter thought. and he began his walk to the door, he could feel the other twi'lek's eyes track him across the room. Just keep moving, he thought. Once out on the street he let out a sigh of relief. Obiter put on his eye protection, and made his way through the narrow streets of outer Mos Eisley. He turned over his shoulder to see if the bounty hunter had followed him. He scanned the Kiosks and merchant tents for any possible danger lurking. Lost her.

Obiter made a turn down the alley way, and began the half mile walk to the old skiff station. Once there, he would purchase a ride to Mos Espa. The sooner I get out of this place the better.

[Han Antilles]

Han stepped through the doorway of the cantina with a look of tiredness. Last time I go through an inspection with my tech back at the base. I thought I would never get out of that hangar. His eyes spotted the bartender behind the counter and made a beeline toward him, disregarding everyone around him.

"I've had a long day, bartend, gimme your best ale." He smoothed his hair with his hand and stratched at the stubble that was beginning to grow, his eyes scanning the patrons at the counter. Aliens and spacers of all shapes and sizes seemed to be buzzing about one thing or another.

Corran said he would be having a drink here. Where was he? Perhaps he was early.

[Kayla2004]

As Kayla watched everyone in the cantina, she started to feel as though she was being watched. Noticing all the glances in her directions, her steel eyes misisng nothing. But what caught her attension the most was the male twi'leks sudden departure. That's odd, Kayla thought to herself, catching his timid glance in her direction. Twi'leks were usually secretive, but not so nervous, Kayla reading his telltale body signs like a book. The nervous glances, the twitching lekku and hands, the wide eyes. This was one nervous Twi'lek male. But why? Was he in some kind of trouble? Possibly. For one reason or another Twi'lek males just loved to get themselves into trouble by getting involved with spice and slavery.

Maybe this one had a price on his head.

Reaching for her datapad again, Kayla this time started to call up lists of wanted Twi'lek males. And found him. Dr Obiter Dictum. Odd name for a Twi'lek. Sounded human. Well maybe he had it changed or was born offworld. Either way he had a price on his head. A big one. There was not much information on him however. Only the price and the contact's info. Nothing on what he had done. Not that she really cared. The odd thing about the contact however was the planet that was mentioned to make the drop. That's a Imperial planet. Odd. Reaching for her drink, Kayla finnished it off with one swallow, her steel eyes gleaming in the darkness. To go or not to go. She didn't really need the credits. She had a Hunt waiting for her on Corellia. But then again it was alot of credits. A lot of credits.

Let's see how this plays out.

Getting to her feet, Kayla tossed a couple of credits to the bartender and walked out without a backwards glance. Squinting her eyes, Kayla looked about, scowling at the pathetic jawas that immedeately came forward, begging her for money. Hissing at them in Huttese, Kayla quickly glanced about, just catching the sight of the escaping twi'lek in the distance, turning a corner. Reaching down to pull out her two blasters, Kayala checked to make sure they were fully charged. They were, causing Kayla to grin ferally. Let's play.

Kayala dashed after him, her footsteps making no sound, having been trained in her dancing days how to move quietly. A noisy dancer did not find work. Quicking catching upto him, Kayla made sure to always keep out of site, ducking behind larger beings and walls, her headtails wrapped around her her neck. He's heading for that skiff station, Kayla realized. Realizing that it would have to be now or never, Kayla made her move.

Dashing forward on light feet, Kayla quickly came to his side, reaching out and putting her arm around his waist as she had seen human do when with their mates. "Oh my darling! I thought I had missed you back in the crowd!" Kayala purred, playing the part of coy mate, not wanting to alert the onlookers. But what the onlookers did not see was the blaster that Kayla was digging into his back, his cape covering both the blaster and her hand. Winking at him and grinning at him with mercyless glee, Kayal nodded her head to a side ally, making it obvious to him that she wanted him in there. "Hello Dr. Orbitor. Please be a good boy and go into that allyway. I don't want to make a mess." she said in Twi'leky, her lekku twitching, speaking in their native tongue to make sure that no one would understand.

Noticing a human glance at them curiously, Kayal grinned and without further adiu leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder, playing her part od long lost mate perfectly, the entire time digging her blaster into his back...

OCC: If me made booboo, my bad. *Grins*

[Corran Antilles]

Corran sensed his wingman before Han even entered the cantina. "Look who the sandpanther brought in..." the Corellian said with a smile to Sam. "It's your lover boyooowwwww....that was my shin, Sam." He bent down to rub where his half-sister's boot had hit him.

Corran sat up again, turned and waved to Han on the other side of bar. Obviously the eyes of his wingman wasn't used to the dim light of the room by now.

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

Once in the seclusion of the alleyway, Obiter knew that he had only two options. The first was to fight, but that would be pointless, since he carried no weapon. His second option was to outwit his assailant. Obiter was good at this. He had faced the barrel of many a bounty hunter before, and had learned a great deal about them.

First thing was first, to survive initial capture, one must appear submissive. This will in most cases encourage the bounty hunter to bring you in alive. Live bounties pay substantially more than dead ones. Bounty hunters are profit minded since it may take months to track a bounty down.

The Bounty hunter began to search him for weapons, and when she found none she searched again. Apparently she found it hard to believe that anyone would be walking the streets of Mos Eisley unarmed. She then motioned for Obiter to sit next to the wall, as she rummaged through his belongings. Was she going to rob him as well. Perhaps she was just curious.

She picked up Obiter's Data Pad and switched it on. She soon discovered that all its programed access information was coded.
She tossed it aside. She then found the molecular Ion reconfigurer. She looked at Obiter strangely, she hadn't a clue as to what it's function was. She tossed it aside as well. Then she found a holoprojector, she switched it on. It was an image of Fa'bona, Obiter's dead wife.

"Awe, girlfriend?" She asked.

"That is the only holo image I have of her, please be careful." Obiter pleaded.

"What a pity." she said as she switched it off, and tossed it aside.

Coruscant supply frigate schedule, three hundred NR credits, various IDs with different names on them, a package of fresh Ryloth red lichen(Very tasty), and a holobook on the Fire Rings of Fornax.

The Bounty Hunter gathered the items back up and put them back in the satchel. She sat down across from Obiter, on the other side of the alley, and said nothing for what seemed like minutes.

She had questions, Obiter thought. Obiter began to discern things about her already. Something was vexing her. She had searched through his things trying to learn something about him. Apparently he was only a target of opportunity, and she had not planned this throughly. She knew his name, she knew he had a bounty, and she knew how to collect it. But she was a Twi'lek, and she needed to know why. Why he carried a bounty, she did not know. It was obvious. She sighed, perplexed, and frustrated.

Obiter fought back a grin, he had figured her out. She was an ethical bounty hunter. She did not mindlessly hunt for profit, she needed to understand why she was hunting an individual. He could use this to his advantage, if he played his cards right.

"Okay Obiter, here is the deal...." She began.

[Kayla2004]

“Okay Obiter, here is the deal...” Kayla began, her steel eyes narrow as she spoke slowly in Twi’Leky, eyeing the lichen, secretly wanting to take a bite (she hadn’t had fresh Ryloth lichen in months), keeping the blaster aimed at his head. “I know that you must have done something really bad. And I also know that whatever it was it has something to do with the Imperials. Now if that’s the case, I have questions.”

Moving suddenly with a dancer's grace, Kayla jumped forward and kneeled down so that they were face to face, their noses only inches apart, her odd steel blue eyes burning into his own orbs like lasers, making sure to keep the blaster pointed to his head, her grip firm. Staring into his face, her lips pursed, Kayla inhaled, her finger on the trigger. “What in the Seven Hells of Garoth’Pa did you do to tick them off?! And better yet, why? Imperials hate us. Why tick them off?” she demanded, her tone surprisingly conversational, like it they were in a café talking about bad weather or something.

Leaning back, Kayla sat down again, facing him, her blaster constantly pointing at his head, her head slightly tilted. Staring at him for while, Kayla sighed. “It’s been a year since I have seen a male Twi’lek. Pity things had to turn this way.” Getting to her feet, Kayla turned slightly, glancing at the alleyway to make sure that no one was watching before returning her gaze to Orbiter.

“So this is the deal. I don’t like Hunting my own people. Especially when it concerns turning them to Imps. I hate Imps. So let’s make a bargain. The New Republic is always looking for top ranking Imperial officials. If you answer my prior questions and give me a few names and their whereabouts then you’re free to go. Deal?”

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

"I'll tell you what you want to know if you remove the blaster from my face." Obiter Said.

"No, the blaster stays where it is, now start talking, or I will put a hole where your face is" Kayla said.

This is why Twi'leks don't play Sabacc with each other, they cant bluff. Obiter knew by watching her leeku that she would not shoot him.

"Hole where my face is?" Obiter asked.

"Yes...you." Kayla stopped, she knew he had read her leeku, and it was pointless to deny her intentions.

"Please." Obiter asked with a smile.

Kayla's finger wiggled over the trigger for a moment, and then..

"Fine!" Kayla said, and put her blaster away.

"Thank you. First tell me your name." Obiter sighed.

Kayla pulled her blaster out again and shot the wall next to Obiter's head. Apparently she did not want to answer that question.

"Very well. Here is my story..." Obiter began.

Obiter told her about working for the Empire, and how for almost twenty years he had been kept oblivious to the atrocities they had inflicted on his own people. He told her that they were now looking for him so that he might help them rebuild their technologies. He told her that he did not want to help them, he wanted to hurt them. He told her the names of some officers he had worked for, but he insisted that most of them were already dead, or captured by the NR. He did not tell her that the Hutts wanted him even more than the Imperials. He was relieved to know that Kayla had not discovered that bounty.

"Interesting, though I think your still not telling me everything." Kayla said.

"I have told you all I intend to for now." Obiter said.

"For now?" Kayla asked.

"Yes, if that is not sufficient for now, you can just shoot me" Obiter dared.

"You don't know how close you are to death Obiter...you best not tempt me." Kayla warned.

During his telling Kayla about his past, Obiter had noticed the movements of compassion in her leeku. She felt sorry for him. He knew that not only would she not kill him, but that a friendship was a more likely conclusion to their chance meeting. Now all he had to do was break down the anti social barrier she had built around herself.

"I will tell you more if you take me back to the Cantina, and buy me a drink." Obiter said, grinning.

"Your out of your mind, I'm not buying you a drink." Kayla said.

"Then let me buy you one." Obiter said.

"I'm not thirsty." Kayla said.

Obiter stood up, dusted himself off and began to walk back toward the street. Kayla reached over and grabbed his cloak.

"Where do you think your going?" Kayla yelled.

"Back to the Cantina, are you coming or not?" Obiter asked.

[Kayla2004]

Kayla stared at Obitor a long time, her expression unreadable, this time smart enough to keep her lekku stiff and immobile. It had been a while since she had talked to a fellow Twi’lek. It was hard to keep her thoughts bottled up. Normally she dealt with humans and other non-twi’leks who were unable to read her lekku as Obitor was doing. Staring up at him, Kayla went over her options. Maybe if she got him liquored up he would give her some better info. If not she could still just shot him and bring him in… “Fine. Let’s go.” she said finally, Kayla nodding her head and with a swish of her tattooed blue lekku she took the lead, her blasters holstered, walking out of the alleyway.

If he wanted to make a run for it, now was the time to do it…

Not looking back, Kayla simply marched forward across the blazing sands, sweat starting to form, this causing Kayla to quicken her steps, practically running into the cantina, giving all the occupants a defiant glare. This time however Kayla opted to head for the far back, taking up a seat at a vacant table, the driod waiter taking her order of bedjie, an edible fungus from Duro, as well as a cup of iced Jeru tea.

With that done, Kayla turned to stare at the door, seriously wondering if Obitor would really follow her back in here.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Sam grinned in spite of herself at the sight of her love at the other end of the bar; not even Corran's goodnatured ribbing could affect her brightening mood -- although the kick had been rather satisfying.

It had been a long time since she'd seen Han, and she knew he was not expecting her to be here; they had planned to meet back on Corellia after this run so he could show her his old stomping grounds. She wasn't sure if she should explain why exactly her trip had been cut so suddenly short, and decided against it. The less she mentioned her choice of career in here, the better, and she could always tell him later.

The smuggler subtly hid herself behind her half brother as Han made his way toward them, hoping to catch him off guard.

[Han Antilles]

Han was slowly making his way around the tavern. He hadn't seen Corran for a while and suspected that he had managed to head back to the hangar bays. He assumed he was late to join his wingman in a drink and shook his head sadly, nearly banging it against a low-hanging lamp in the process. The cantina was just not well equipped for tall fighter pilots, although it did accommodate a variety of other species well, judging by the happy noises.

Or perhaps they are just too inebriated to notice, the Rogue pilot thought.

The place had become more crowded since the doors had opened for the evening. Scores surrounded the booths, and there were lines to the bar counter shouting for drinks.

It was then he finally noticed a dark haired figure nestled in the crowded tavern. A smile flashed on his face. No one could miss Corran. That lopsided grin always gave him away.

"Miss me?" Han ribbed verbally to his wingman as he approached. He then glanced the hint of blonde hair behind his shoulder. He squinted.

"Who is that behind you?" he questioned. "Sam?"

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

Shortly after Kayla began her meal, an Ithorian walked into the Cantina. He walked to the bar and ordered two drinks. Then he walked toward her.

"Keep your distance Hammerhead, this booth is taken." She hissed, as her blaster jutted out from underneath the table.

The Ithorian stopped dead in his tracks and began to mumble in his native stereophonic language.

"Knock off with that gibberish and speak basic, unless you want your entrails sprayed across the floor." Kayla barked out.

The Ithorian was rattled by her viper like demeanor.

"My apologies miss, I was told to come in here and buy you a drink." the Ithorian said, the drinks spilling on his hands as he spoke.

"Who told you...hey wait a minute. Where did you get that?" Kayla asked, using her free hand to point at the device on the Ithorians wrist.

"The Twi'lek outside traded me for it, I don't know what it is, but it looks expensive." the Ithorian said.

"What did you give him in return?" Kayla asked, while slowly getting to her feet.

"He gave me this device, and two hundred New Republic credits for my old beat up swoop bike. He then jumped on the swoop and told me to come in here and tell you good bye, and to buy you this drink. Please don't kill me ma'am." The Ithorian said.

"Get out of the way!" Kayla yelled, as she shoved the Ithorian to the ground, and bolted for the door. Several onlookers gawked and laughed at the Twi'lek as she clambered up the steps and exited the Cantina.

The Ithorian slowly got back to his feet, and leaned onto the bar.

"Your gonna pay for those busted glasses on the floor hammerhead" the bar tender said.

"Sure, no problem" The Ithorian said in perfect Twi'leky.

"What?" asked the bartender.

The Ithorian touched the device on his wrist and all about his body, tiny bolts of energy began to swarm through the air. Then there was a flicker of white light, and Obiter was standing where the Ithorian had stood.

The entire Cantina went quiet at the site of this, and the bar tender backed away from his side of the bar and into the glasses that were stacked behind him, consequently smashing those as well.

"Forget it, just get out. Get out before you turn into anything else." the bartender said.

"Fine, keep the change." Obiter said as he tossed a few credits onto the bar.

Obiter proceeded to the door where he was met by Kayla. She pointed her blaster at his head.

"Nifty gift you have there Doctor, but you should have studied your Ithorians a bit more." Kayla said.

"I thought I got the speech pattern down perfectly, it is hard to do you know, but I practice it often." Obiter objected.

"No the voice impersonation was perfect, I am impressed with that. But your knowledge of Hammerhead traders is lacking. They don't buy anything without knowing what it is. What is that anyway?" Kayla asked.

"I said get out!" the bar tender screamed.

Kayla stepped forward and extended her arm over Obiter's shoulder and fired three precise shots. Each of them striking the bartender center mass. He was dead before he hit the floor. This sent half of the patrons under their tables. Some of the more bold patrons at the bar pulled their weapons out, but seemed to hesitate, probably waiting to see if she took aim on them.

"Calm down, that Kowakian Monkey-Lizard couldn't mix a drink to save his hide. His death is an improvement. I am surprised one of you didn't kill him already." Kayla yelled.

The human female at the bar seemed to accede to Kayla's appraisal of the bartenders meager skills, and asked her companions lower their weapons.

"Move it Obiter!" she said as she guided him back over to her table.

"Now where were we." Kayla asked.

"It is an invention of mine, the Obiter Ionic Molecular Reconfigurer." Obiter said plainly.

"Oh, is that what you call it? It sounds very expensive." Kayla said, sarcastically.

[Corran Antilles]

OOC: Orbiter, I really appreciate your enthuasiasm for writing, but did you have the permission of Kayla to let her do such evil things in your post? It is okay, when you interact with other characters in your posts, but please just when you know that they want to let their character do that. Otherwise it's called godmoding and against our rules.

IC:

Corran couldn't believe what happened here. He thought he could spent a nice evening with his friends. And now that! Sam, Han and he had their blasters in the hand immediately, curses on their lips. "What was that?" Han murmured. "Twi'lek mating ritual?" Corran shook his head. "I can say no to that by own experience..." he answered.

Before Sam or Han could ask more, Corran said simply "Cover me." and walked towards the two twi'leks, saying loud with his best CorSec voice mixed with a hint Force mind trick: "You will throw your weapon away. I'm Captain Antilles of the New Republic. You are under arrest for breaking the Republic's laws."

[Samantha Koortyn]

Sam shook her head as she peered over the bar at the lifeless form of the bartender. He had been a moron, but he hadn't been worth killing... and now I'll never get my drink. She smiled halfheartedly at Han, her surprise spoilt by the hijinks between the two Twi'leks, whom Corran was now approaching quite authoritatively in an effort to put an end to the situation.

"By the way, surprise," she said sarcastically to her lover as the two drew their weapons and trained them on the blue Twi'lek in case she tried anything. "Did you miss me?" she added casually, as though nothing untoward was happening.

[Kayla2004]

OCC: *Kicks Obiter!* DUDE! Erhem. Sorries. I knew he was god-modding earlier but decided not to say anything because before his posts were actually pretty good. LOL. My bad. I totally did not think this would happen! Oh woe is me! A newbie vs. three admins! :huh


IC: “Oh poo. Heroes.” Kayla grumbled, glaring at the three humans that had decided to intervene, glaring at them with ice-cold eyes. “Why do you humans always have to get so huffy!” she snapped, inwardly cursing. This Obitor was starting to get her into trouble. Big trouble. That stupid thingamajig of his better be worth a lot of credits or this could turn out to be really nasty.

Glaring at the three humans, Kayla quickly went over her options, trying her best not to look worried, the corner of her eyes catching something. Hmm. One difference between twi’leks and humans was the fact that their hearing was much more sensitive. Another adaptation had to do with the fact of the constant temperature fluctuations that went on her planet. Twi’leks could sense heat. And in the corner of her eye, Kayla saw something on a far wall. A computer panel that controlled the doors.

Moving with sudden athletic speed, Kayla fell to her knees and fired at the panel, sparks flying, her shot causing the automatic doors to start to close, Kayla grabbing Obitor and tackling him, the two barely getting past the doors as they closed behind them. Her lekku rippling with agitation, Kayla got to her feet and then grabbed Obitor, and without further adieu she slugged him hard on the chin, causing him to fall back down.

“That’s for drawing attention to yourself and getting me into trouble, you nerf herder!” Seething with anger Kayla then reached down and grabbed him by the arm roughly, lifting him to his feet and then dragging him to the swoop he had earlier indicated. Climbing on and holstering her blaster, Kayla turned to give Obiter a commanding glare. “Now come on! By shooting the door locks I bought us some time!”

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

OCC: Rubs chin. Okay, so perhaps I was god modding...a little..okay maybe alot...sorry, If I knew the admins were going to all turn on us,I would have been more careful. Lets try and look at the bright side. At least now we have plenty of action. LOL.

IC: "Well it seems the hunter has become the hunted." Obiter said, as he climbed onto the back of the swoop. Kayla gave him a quick jab in the ribs to shut him up just before the swoop lurched forward.

It was her fault really, Obiter thought. He hadn't asked her to chase after him, and what did she expect him to do. Obiter looked over his shoulder to see if they were being followed.

Kayla was cursing to herself. Obiter tightened his grip on the swoop as she maneuvered it around a corner at break-neck speed.

"Slow down! Your gonna wreck us." He yelled.

Kayla ignored him, as the swoop roared down the street, zig zagging through the randomly scattered pedestrians.

"Where are you going!" Obiter screamed.

"As far away from that Krayt hole as possible." Kayla said.

The words were barely out of her mouth when smoke began to billow out of the back of the swoop, the engine died shortly there after, and It came to rest in the middle of the market district, just two blocks from the Cantina.

"Now what?" Obiter asked.

Kayla jumped off and pulled Obiter over to an empty kiosk.

"Get down, don't move. If they are following we will know soon enough." Kayla said.

Obiter did what he was told. He watched Kayla as she peered into the crowded street, her hands, cupped on the grips of her blasters, readying herself for a fight. She was very upset, her leeku were slithering. Obiter rubbed his jaw, she had quite a punch.

"Maybe we should split up?" Obiter suggested.

"Get serious." Kayla said coldly.

Well, it was worth a try, Obiter thought to himself.

The swoop bike was now burning out of control, and black smoke began to smolder into the air. Obiter stared at the burning wreck.

"Uh... won't they see that?" Obiter asked.

"Shh!" Kayla hissed.

[Corran Antilles]

"What the...?" Corran cursed as he saw the closing door and the burning panel. He grabbed a fire extinguisher behind the bar and stopped the small fire before it became a problem. The smoke made him cough a little as he turned back to Sam and Han. "We should call the authorities." Han nodded, switching on his comlink. "I'll do that."

Corran sat down on a chair and looked up to Sam. "Sometimes I think, that we attract such situations..."

[Zondra Declan]

(ooc: I turn my attention elsewhere for a day or two and see what happens? Now I have to catch up!)

Zondra paused and watched the Twi'leks greeting. The female definitely didn't have any romantic interest in the nervous one, and she noted the weapon at the blue skinned aliens hip.
Right...that one was going after a bounty.
Raising her eyebrows and nodding to the pair for Lyr to take notice, they just sat and watched the various litte dramas unfold.
When the two Twi'leks then headed for the door, Zondra got a bit nervous herself. That wasn't going to end well if the male didn't cooperate.
She didn't know anything about mating rituals of other aliens...but that didn't look like one unless guns were part of it.
Zondra shrugged at Lyr and turned her attention to the bar as she sucked some more ale down.
Apparently the trio at the bar all knew each other, brother, sister, lover..nice little triad going on there...Zondra chuckled at the improbability of it for those three. The tall blonde pilot seemed a bit arrogant for her tastes and it was just as well, he and the blonde woman made a nice pair.

The two Twi'leks returned to the catina in a rather rushed and separate manner. Well, maybe she underestimated their intentions.
Zondra looked again at Lyr
"What time does that shindig start? You have time to get me another payload off this litterbox?"
"His parties always start around secondary sunset. I'll leave in an hour or so and make arrangements after I look into some cargo."
Lyr turned around at the sound of an Ithorian ordering at the bar, the Hammerhead aliens were never popular in any bar, but they were tough traders.
The female Twi'lek had ordered food and a drink, maybe that had been a mating ritual after all. Zondra snorted but then took interest when the Ithorian moved to the Twi'leks table.
This was not going to be pretty. Zondra gave a high nod to Lyr and they both relaxed into their seats to better access their blasters just in case.
The Twi'lek must not have gotten a satisfactory session then, due to her snapping the Ithorian verbally in half.
From the mumbled words at that distance, all Zondra could hear was an apology, something about a device and a swoop bike. Then the Twi'lek screamed and ran out of the cantina.
Zondra sat up and paid definite attention when the Ithorian stood up and answered the bartenders yell for the broken glasses. Then he shimmered and suddenly the other Twi'lek was standing there.
"Nice trick!" Zondra mumbled only loud enough for Lyr.
"That is entirely too useful and dangerous." She had heard of shapeshifters, but they were born that way. Having someone invent a gadget to do that...was frightening.

The Twi'lek paid the spooked bartender and made to leave, but ran headlong into a blaster pointed at his head in the doorway, held by the female.
Now THAT was trouble. Zondra felt a fight coming on and started looking for an exit. The female was in a foul mood and she had experienced Twi'lek anger first hand, it was not a pretty sight.
"Lyr, heads up!" Zondra warned her companion as she saw the female raise her blaster and shoot the bartender.
That was uncalled for and a bad move on the Twi'leks part with two or three patrons in the cantina that could very well take her down.

The dark haired pilot at the bar, took charge and moved to the Twi'leks at the door. He had coverage from his friends, and several others scattered around the room. It didn't matter if this was Tatooine...discharging a blaster in a crowded room just is plain stupid.

Zondra started to stand up, and then the female leaped, grabbed and then punched the male, shot the door panel and tumbled out the doors as they closed behind them.

Looking at the other humans in the room she saw that they had things under control and warily watched as 'Captain Antilles' of the New Republic put out the spark fire on the panel.
Catching the eye of the blonde at the bar, she shrugged and holstered her blaster again.
Walking over to the bar and looking at the dead bartender she shook her head.
"Stupid waste. You know how long it takes to break in a new bar....tender?" Zondra paused in the middle of her words realizing that Lyr was a pretty decent bartender, enough to get himself a job at Jabba's parties.
"Lyr...can you come over here and fill in for a while? I think they need some help here."
Zondra turned and leaned her back against the bar giving the blonde woman a half cocked smile.
"So...what were you drinking?"

Lyr walked over to the bar, and looked for a moment at the body of the bartender shaking his head.
"What do we do with him? Can't just leave him here, he'll get in the way. Besides, it's his bar after all."

"Just drag him over to the doorway, when the constables get here, Antilles over there will make a report no doubt and they'll figure out what to do. In the meantime...you've got a new job!"
Zondra was trying to make the best of the situation. She had killed people in her past, but they all were in self defense. People who just killed for fun or rep, that was not right. Bounty hunters were scum but at least they were earning a living.
She walked back over to her table and grabbed her ale off the table and made her way back to the bar.

[Kayla2004]

“Dammit. Cops are coming… I know it! I can feel it!” Kayla hissed after a few minutes, staring at the street, her steel eyes narrowed. Not one to wait to be arrested, Kayla turned to Obiter and then glanced around. “We gotta get out of here…” she said, looking around, her eyes landing on the building the Kiosk was in front of, thinking.

The building was made of mud and was old. Kneeling down, with her hand on the floor for balance, Kayla kicked at the wall, grinning with she easily got through, the mud crumbling enough to create a hole just big enough to crawl through. Haha! Success! Giving Obiter a flashy grin, Kayla crawled into the empty building, finding herself in a musty storage room that seemed to contain boxes of cheap looking ornaments, Kayla wrinkling her nose, smell old ranant dung.

Pulling out her two blasters, Kayla turned to the hole, eager to get as far away from the cantina as possible. “Let’s go!”

[Samantha Koortyn]

"Corran," Sam responded, her voice world-weary and jaded, "I can't remember the last time I had a peaceful drink in a bar, and didn't have to leave out the back door, or shoot my way out the front. I guess it was too much to ask for today to be any different."

Holstering her blaster, the blonde smuggler smirked at the brunette, giving her Bothan companion an uneasy glance. She and Bothans never seemed to get along; in fact the only ones she knew had either tried to kill her or put a bounty on her head.

"I wasn't drinking anything... yet," she replied. "I had ordered a Dodbri whiskey but at this point I'll take anything resembling it."

The cantina seemed to be quieting down now, but Sam knew better than to hope that the excitement was truly over.

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra eyed the blonde and then looked at Lyr as he came back from depositing the bartenders body at the door.
"Lyr, I'm sure there should be a bottle of Dobri back there. If not, then I suspect Whyrens would be a good substitute."

As Lyr rustled through the various bottles behind the bar, Zondra introduced herself.
"I'm Zondra Declan captain of 'The Gauntlet' and Lyr there, besides being a rather good bartender, is my copilot."
Seeing the blonde eye Lyr skeptically, Zondra chuckled.
"Don't worry, he's been with me for three years and hasn't done anything but get into some interesting situations when he's mouthed off to people he shouldn't have. And some cargoes that I would normally haven't taken. Speaking of which..."
Lyr had indeed found a bottle of Dobri and had poured a generous half glass of it for the blonde.
"According to my sources, we may have a cargo in common." Zondra had no gentle way of dropping the information so she just blurted it out. Heck, she was never known for tact anyway.
"I seem to have found your haul of spice on another market." She pulled out her data pad and keyed up the last accounting for her cargo of spice, then handed it over to the woman.
"If you don't ask any uncomfortable questions...I'd be willing to give you forty percent of my take on this load. Seeing as how I came by it rather ...accidentally in the first place."
Zondra nodded to Lyr and pushed her tankard to him for a refill while the woman eyed her information.
She must be getting soft, but she could afford it this time. She had a cushion built up and because the spice had been a hot cargo anyway, the seller had taken whatever she asked. That was the first tip off she had about the source for the spice.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Sam couldn't help grinning crookedly at the suggestion that a place like this would stock Whyren's, but the Bothan had managed to find a bottle of Dodbri, which was almost equally as unlikely to be found in such a place as this. Wonders never cease, she thought sarcastically, inclining her head to the Bothan in thanks.

Lifting the generously poured alcohol to her lips, the smuggler took a small drink as the other woman introduced herself as Zondra, and her Bothan copilot as Lyr, waiting for an opening in which to give her name in return... and nearly choked at the next words out of the other woman's mouth. What in blazes...?

With one hand over her mouth, she coughed several times, ejecting the errant whiskey from her windpipe, never removing her eyes from the woman, obviously a smuggler like herself, her wide-eyed look of surprise slowly becoming one of suspicion and paranoia, and her anger from before returning in full force. How the hell does she know anything about my last cargo? Sam hadn't exactly given her life story to the dockmaster when she'd landed; in fact, she hadn't even been that forthcoming to Corran, yet somehow this woman, Zondra, and her Bothan companion seemed to know not only about the spice she'd been carrying, but the circumstances surrounding her abrupt unloading of it as well. And she never even asked my name...

Taking the datapad from the woman, Sam scanned it long enough to confirm that it indeed had been her cargo: the quantities of spice were exactly the same; the date of sale relatively close to the time she'd dumped it. Making sure to keep both the woman and her companion in her line of sight, the smuggler glanced up quickly toward Corran and Han, both standing within earshot, and wondered what they had heard. The two men generally turned a blind eye toward Sam's career decision, but this... Let's out ourselves to Rogue Squadron, what a great idea. Making a spice deal in front of her half-brother and her lover was probably the lowest on her list of priorties, 40 percent notwithstanding.

Her face now carefully neutral, Sam slowly shook her head at the oddly matched pair. "You must have mistaken me for someone else," she said coldly, and handed the pad back to Zondra.

[Zondra Declan]

Damn, when will I learn to have some tact!
Zondra berated herself yet again. As the woman choked on her drink, Zondra gave Lyra worried look. Maybe she had misjudged Samantha's situation.
As the woman grabbed the datapad out of her hand to look at the manifest, Zondra had the distinct impression that they must look like pirates to the woman. Lyr had been very lucky finding that load of spice, and Zondra hadn't questioned his methods. Until now.
The woman obviously didn't want to have the two men aware of her situation and here Zondra trying to be a goody goody, had just put her in a compromising situation.
'Sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else.'
The woman replied and handed back the datapad to her.

Zondra had to think fast, she knew they had the right person, but she denied it.

"What? You're not Domella Samanski?" Zondra looked at the datapad and then squinted at the woman as if she had bad eyesight. She threw then turned to Lyr,
"Dammit Lyr! You told me your source said she was in here! You're no better than a Wookie for finding information. I'm going to find that Bim and turn him upside down to get our money back." Turning back to the woman she apologized,
"After the stupid Twi' lek fight and now this. I really do owe you a drink now, but if you're not Domella Samanski, who am I apologising to?"
Zondra nodded to Lyr to refill the woman's glass and put her datapad back in her pocket.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Breathing a slow sigh of relief disguised as a deep breath, Sam realized the other woman understood her predicament. Still, she couldn't help wondering how this duo, with the Bothan coincidentally and quite conveniently now established behind the bar, had so efficiently surmised her situation. Are they the pirates?

Sam's nostrils flared instinctively, and realizing this, she forced her upper lip not to twitch with the residual anger she still felt about the cargo she'd dumped. If these two had in fact been the culprits, their faces were burned into her brain forever. And she never forgot the face of anyone who crossed her.

"Sam," she finally replied, answering the woman's question in the shortest possible manner, and made a point to avoid any further drinks which were poured by the Bothan.

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra could see suspicion written all over 'Sam's' face. She had a right to be, with the way Zondra had oh so conveniently offered some of the profit from her cargo. She mentally slapped herself again for jumping the gun and trying to be a nice guy.
Shifting a bit closer to Sam so she could lower her voice, Zondra acted like she was asking a personal question about the two guys.
"Lyr has connections in the Bothan Spynet and several other places I don't bother finding out about. I'll be happy to pass on more details about who we got it from to prove we're square."
The one that apparently was Sams brother glanced in their direction and Zondra nodded with a lift of her chin and smiled, he was quite the handsome one. And all full of himself with his skills no doubt.
"You're brother ? seems to me is the kind of guy that you'd want to keep one step ahead of at all times." She paused and looked at Sam, "and two steps away from any lasting female commitments."
A sly smile turned up the corner of her mouth as she looked at Sam mischief gleaming in her eyes.
Zondra had shared a bed or two with a few pilots and others, she knew what was good for her and what would cause trouble in the future. That one was almost more trouble than the entertainment would be worth.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Each new word out of the dark haired woman's mouth served only to increase Sam's paranoia. Zondra had offered assistance one moment; then casually let slip another tidbit about her personal life -- and then made assumptions about her half brother -- with her very next breath. She had not been this disconcerted in quite some time, and found herself wondering what the woman would come out with next.

Under similar circumstances, she'd normally have been long gone from the bar, but Sam didn't relish the thought of explaining anything to either Corran or Han about her abrupt departure, especially when she hadn't even had the chance to really talk to them yet.

Glancing at Corran again, Sam formed her next words carefully. "I don't really worry about keeping ahead of him," she replied truthfully, "and I wouldn't know about any of his current commitments."

The smuggler straightened on the stool, ending the private conversation, but she hoped her next comment would be correctly received. "I've always been interested in the Bothan Spynet," she said, genuinely curious. And exactly how much more of my personal life is projected all over it.

[Dr Obiter Dictum]

Obiter crawled through the crumbling wall, and into the dust filled chamber. Light from the street illuminated the abandoned building enough to realize that it's former resident was some sort of scavenging junk trader. Scattered throughout the small shop were what was left of his wares. Droid parts, moisture farming equipment, food processors, dried animal carcase's, gaffe sticks, and various desert fabrics made from woven bantha fur.

"What is that smell?" Obiter asked.

"Death" Kayla said as she pointed over to the corner of the shop.

The corpse had been dead for weeks. It's remains had long since slawed out of its clothes and onto the floor.The Tatooine heat had slow cooked the decaying alien, and the stench still remained.

"What was it?" Obiter asked.

"I don't know, a local species of some kind, non human." Kayla said.

The two of them made their way toward the front of the shop, and then out onto the adjoining street. They moved in and out of buildings, skirting the edges of crowds, and never stopping in one place for too long.

Thirty minutes later they arrived at a street juncture Obiter recognized. It was the southern rim of the city, near the docking bays. Security patrols would be heaviest here and they both knew it.

"That whatchamacallit gizmo you got on your wrist, can it emulate human?" Kayla asked.

"Perfectly." Obiter said.

"Okay, we need to get past the the guards, and into the hanger bay. By now authorities have most likely determined where my ship is docked. They will be waiting for us. I'll need that device to get close enough to take out the guards. Can you show me how it works?" Kayla asked.

"You want me to help you get your ship, so you can in turn kidnap me. I don't see the up side for me." Obiter said.

"Your right, how hard could it be to learn how to use it on my own after I kill you." Kayla said, pointing her blaster at Obiter's forehead.

"Good point, here. The red dial selects the species, blue the age, the brass switch selects gender and the rest is preprogrammed. The voice modulation pad is on the underside. I scanned a female human while on coruscant a few months ago, she is the most current human replica, and should get you close enough to the guards. Be careful not to walk too close to any positively charged energy fields while this device is activated." Obiter handed her the Ionic reconfigurer.

"What happens if I do get too close?" Kayla asked.

"You would be the center of an explosion that would take out several city blocks." Obiter said.

"Good to know, alright, how do you turn this thing on?" Kayla asked.

[Kayla2004]

After listening intently as Obiter quickly explained how to use his thingamajig, Kayla turned the switch and listened to it’s electronic, her steel-gray eyes widening when she say her image change in the reflection of a store’s glass window. She looked like a human female. With disgusting blond hair that reached her shoulders instead of two graceful lekku, Kayla immediately scowled but said nothing, glancing at Obiter, seeing a butch-looking human male stare back. Ugh. “Come on. If I look like this for too long I think I’ll end up shooting myself instead of the guards.” Kayla grumbled sourly.

Taking the lead, Kayla strolled forward, trying to act and walk as ‘human’ as she could, her blasters back in their holsters, her now dull brown eyes narrowed. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and just get to her ship. Although she could leave the planet, she could head to Tatooine’s other main city, Mos Espa, get the stupid parts she needed and get the hell off this stupid planet. She had already decided to let Obitor go eventually. After all he was helping her at the moment, so she might as well return the favor and let him live out his boring life in peace.

Within minutes they came to the juncture that led into the spaceport and sure enough there were four guards waiting there, gripping mean-looking blaster rifles. “Hey! You two see a Twi’Lek couple by any chance?” one guard called out to them, Kayla stepping forward.

“Yea, we saw ‘em just now. Headin’ for business sector. That way.” Kayla said in crude Basic, her accent matching that of a local perfectly, pointing in the opposite direction they had just came from. Watching the guard run off with a smile that made even her disgusting human face glow, Kayla snickered to herself and led Obiter forward, the two soon coming to her ship. Good thing she had placed it here under a false identity, but she doubted that would last long.

After glancing around and making sure that no one else was present, Kayla switched off Orbiter’s thingamajig and handed it back to him. Glancing back at her waiting ship, Kayla returned her gaze to Obiter, flashing him a predatory smile. With sudden quickness, Kayla grabbed Obiter by the color of his jacket and yanked him forward, delivering a passionate kiss, pressing hard against him, then pushing him back after literally taking his breath away.

“Well Ob, that’s that. See ya around.” Kayla said, winking. Blowing him a kiss, Kayla turned and headed up her gangplank and into her ship, humming a tune, eager to take off, her lekku twitching too and fro, as though they were waving goodbye.

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra noted the woman was being uneasy still...damn. Me and my big mouth. Sometimes her skill in being observant was a disadvantage.'When am I going to learn to keep my business to myself!?'
Zondra took the other womans lead for the conversation and decided to drop being too friendly for now. Whatever Sam's situation, it wasn't any of her business. She was still interested in that Corran though. 'Leave it alone Zon, nothing bug trouble.'
"Well, I heard a while back about someone trying to infiltrate their system. It wasn't a pretty sight. I trust their sources over anyone elses and don't worry about how they got it."
Zondra gave Sam a knowing nod of the head then half turned to finish her drink.

[Corran Antilles]

"You wouldn't want to know how they got their informations. It can be pretty ugly." Corran said as he stepped closer to them. He had noticed the interested look of that woman, as she had nodded to him.

He took a chair and sat down. "The police will be here soon. I guess, till then the drinks are free. What do you and your friend want, Sam?"

[Samantha Koortyn]

"Nothing for me, thanks, Corran," Sam immediately replied to her half-brother with a halfhearted grin. She had already decided not to let herself become too influenced by alcohol on this day, but she was relieved he'd taken an interest in herself and her new friend.

To Zondra she continued, "Infiltrate the Bothan Spynet? I didn't think it was that hard..." the blonde smuggler trailed off, knowing that her droid Frak had weaved his way in and out of that web several times, and wondering now what exactly he was hiding from her as he did so. But perhaps her astromech had been right to keep Sam out of the loop; she honestly had no idea what parts of the Undernet he had access to at this point and she tried not to ask. And usually succeeded.

"You realize that the Bothans were duped, don't you," she continued finally, referring to the critical data they'd given the Rebel Alliance... data that had been deliberately planted, and which had almost gotten Rogue Squadron and various others killed in their attempt on the second Death Star. "They're always bringing that up, their sacrifice..." Her nose wrinkled but she chose not to go on, since she knew her words were harsh, and she had nothing against Zondra's companion personally. But Bothans...

Sam held her tongue.

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra lifted her glass showing it was full, "Thanks, I'm taken care of, but I'll take the next round."
Taking a sip, she listened to Sam's response and wondered what she was referring to with the spynet not being hard to infiltrate. There were some stories that droids had been able to easily crack the 'net, but that wouldn't be a challenge in Zondra's book.
The comment about the Bothan's being set up didn't get past her either. Giving a glance at Lyr to see his reaction, she saw him pause briefly, his fur moving in mild interest, then continue setting up a drink.
Zondra got the distinct impression that Sam had no love for Bothans. Lyr's father had been one of those lost in the war. Lyr never brought it up, but had only mentioned it once to her when they had visited Bothawui on a run.
Zondra got a cold knot in her stomach in reaction to Sam's emphasis on 'sacrifice', and her mouth started running before her brain could catch up to what she was going to say.
"And if it were Corellians that had made that 'sacrifice'? Or Twi'leks? Or Zabraks? A sacrifice no matter how it was caused shouldn't be trivialized."
Zondra took another sip of her drink trying to relax, realizing she may have come on a bit strong in her reaction.
"Think about it though, if it was a set up, with all their information network, you think they wouldn't have known? That Death Star would have caused a hell of a lot more destruction if they hadn't made that sacrifice." Zondra used the same tone of voice that Sam had used on the word, ramming it home to show her disapproval of Sam's attitude.
The drink was having an opposite effect on her mood. She was getting more ticked off about Sam's attitude about Bothans. She did a good job of holding it in though, occupying herself with finishing off her drink and pushing the empty to Lyr.
His fur ruffled slightly, cascading in small waves as he moved, but she couldn't tell whether it was annoyance at what she said or what he was mixing carefully in front of him.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Frak. Shouldn't have said that, Sam thought, wishing now that she had a drink after all. She couldn't possibly get in any deeper...

The smuggler tried to tell herself that her attitude was from her past experience with Bothans lying and generally trying to kill her, and not from her Imperial father's hatred of all aliens, and mostly succeeded.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound that way," Sam finally replied. "I just happen to think that constantly reminding everyone about their sacrifice--" she tried not to say it so sarcastically this time, "--trivializes it just as much."

With Han and Corran both in Rogue Squadron, she had heard stories of how Borsk Fey'lya was always shoving that sacrifice in the faces of anyone who would listen, playing the sympathy card to further his own political career. And she knew that, in her experience, Bothans never did anything without an ulterior motive. Maybe Lyr is one of the exceptions...

At any rate, she had no wish to anger someone who apparently had such easy access to her personal life, so she hoped she could smooth things over to their fomerly benign-yet-awkward state.

"Let's have the next one on me instead," she added, indicating Corran in her nod, and putting more credits on the counter than three drinks would be worth.

[Corran Antilles]

"There are good Bothans and bad Bothans like there are good Corellians and bad Corellians. That's the balance of the galaxy. And I know very well, how it is to fight against prejudices. A lot of people think that we Corellians are all smugglers and pirates. And that's not true. So why should all Bothan's be like Fey'lya?" Corran tried an appease smile. Diplomacy wasn't his major skill, but he hoped the others wouldn't be angry about his and Sam's former comments. They didn't needed a fight in a closed room without an exit.

"I take an ale, Sam."

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra looked at both of them in turn, seeing Sam backpedal on her coment. When Corran mentioned the name Fey'la, Zondra understood Sam's attitude. Zondra had always tried to stay out of political circles and turned a deaf ear to anything having to do with politics.
She had heard rumblings about the Bothan politician recently though, mostly from Lyr's point of view. He was torn of course between supporting a fellow Bothan and seeing that too much power was not a good thing.
He had sources for information within his own people and knew more than he usually told her.

Zondra nodded in acceptance of Sam's apology and added her own,
"I didn't mean to pile on top of you so hard. Lyr has saved my can a few times and I've not repaid that debt nearly enough."
Zondra looked at Corran though as she waited for Lyr to fill her glass again.
"You're right though, it only takes a few to ruin the trust for an entire race. Sometimes it's enough to make you run for the outer rim and ignore the rest of the galaxy."

Zondra took the drink Lyr poured her and sipped it as she thought. She had no plans for the rest of the day, and wondered why the hell she was spending time with a hot pilot and a prickly fellow smuggler that had more ice than Hoth. Glancing at Corran again, she knew deep down why she was still in the bar, and as the drink started to fire up her veins, her mood shifted yet again. Damn hormones...

[Corran Antilles]

Corran noticed the glances the woman was giving him. He reacted with one of his lopsided grins. He hadn't to look to Sam now to know that she was rolling her eyes about it for sure. But after all he was here to have fun. And maybe the night would still be entertaining after the barkeeper incident.

"So what was your name?" Corran asked her, turning towards the woman, switching slowly into flirt mood. She wasn't the usual type of prey, but she was interesting enough to get his full attention.

Let the games begin... Corran thought

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra noted the grin on Corran and knew that it was likely one of his best features. She was willing to play into his line, wasn't the worst one she had heard. And honest enough for what it was worth. He definitely had the earmarks of a total bedhopper, but Zondra had done worse in her past.

"Zondra, and you are...Corran if I remember the previous scuffle correctly. So you're a flyboy huh?"

Zondra took another drink and looked at him over her glass. She could flirt with the best and leave the rest hanging. Sam's expression showed that she was all too familiar with Corran's line but it didn't matter to Zondra. She was only here to have fun, not look for a meaningful relationship. She knew that Corran was likely in the same mode and that was fine. At least they were both on the same track and didn't have to worry about lost loves and disappointment of shattered ideas.

Zondra gave a quick smile at her own thoughts and let them think what they wanted at it's meaning.

[Samantha Koortyn]

Here we go... Sam leaned against the bar, her head in her hand as she observed Corran and Zondra go into flirt mode. Just watching it made her uncomfortable; behaving that way herself was unthinkable. But at least the scrutiny was off her for while, and the feeling was one of a physical weight lifting from her shoulders.

The smuggler took a sip of her drink and resorted to examining the countertop to keep from being the third pod on a podracer, and wondered where Han had gone off to.

[Corran Antilles]

Corran didn't need the Force to sense Sam's discomfort. He was asking himself often, why she reacted like that when somebody around her was flirting or showing some affection to somebody else. Something must have happened in her past, that made her acting like that. He also realized that it was kind of rude to flirt while she would sat with them at the table. And Han seemed to be very attracted by the drinks behind the bar. So Corran decided to do some small talk.

"Wasn't that a nasty sandstorm earlier? It was right as we were landing. I guess, my ship needs a new paint job now. And my astromech... He was complaining so much that it was almost funny. Well, now he's relaxing in an oil bath at the base."

[Zondra Declan]

Zondra caught the cue and changed her tactics slightly. They would have to keep it light and simple until the ice queen either relaxed or they had a chance to move.

She smiled at the image of an astromech complaining. She had met her share of R2's that had personality issues.
"I was holed up in my ship when that blew through. I've been here enough times to know not to stick my nose out when the locals start closing up shop."

Taking another sip of her drink, she let it burn it's way down her throat before starting the game in earnest.
"That must have made for a rough landing. But no worse than catching flak in a firefight I bet."

Zondra gave him a wink behind Sam's back and feigned being impressed by talking to an actual fighter pilot.
It was furthest from her actual experience. She was a pilot herself and she only had the barest higher respect for fighter pilots. They just had smaller faster ships than she did. Skills were the same, just a different game.


(ooc: sorry, forgot to check back here when I got the note it was answered. Shall we continue?)

[Samantha Koortyn]

This is excruciating, thought the smuggler, her expression holding the barest hint of a grimace as she downed the rest of her drink. She knew Corran had attempted to include her in the conversation, but to Sam, small talk was almost as bad as flirting, and equally as difficult for her to manage, especially in front of strangers, one of whom she knew was subtly listening to every word behind the bar. And now Zondra had turned the conversation back in that direction with her very next comment. And why not? Let them have their fun, with me out of the way.

"I think I'll go see what Han is up to," she said during the brief pause, and climbed from her barstool, tossing a few more credits on the bar and inclining her head to the Bothan as she quickly extracted herself from the predicament.

[Han Antilles]

"And there were five of them heading right at me!" Han exasperated, holding out his drink as he measured the distance in the air with his arms. "And they were that big!"

The crowd of patrons widened their eyes in awe as the Corellian continued with his story, the liquor apparently making him forget that others were waiting for him at the table.

"So what did you do?" A Gotal asked.

"Well, I barrel-rolled my X-wing to try and shake away those hawkbats, but they were pretty fast," he continued. "But of course, when they saw that I manuevered through that canyon faster than them, they gave up. They can't keep up with the Iceman," he boasted, then downed the rest of his eyeblaster.

He saw the appearance of a blonde through the bottom of his glass. As he lowered it, he saw Sam standing there.

He grinned sheepishly, then was suddenly elbowed by a Chiss bartender.

"So you're going to pay for your drinks or what? I'm not going to keep pouring if you don't pay!" he growled to the Rogue pilot.

[Samantha Koortyn]

"That never happened."

The sound of Sam's voice drew everyone's attention away from Han for a brief moment as they regarded the blonde newcomer to the impromptu gathering. Her tone somber, she appeared as sober as a judge; only someone with a practiced eye, who had either known the smuggler for a long while, or was in a very close relationship to her, would be able see the slight crinkle under her eyes -- the only sign indicating that she was joking.

Han opened his mouth to protest, then realization dawned on his face as he caught the telltale sign.

"Well, are you going to pay the tab or not?" she asked, as deadpan as before, and pointed her thumb toward the Chiss bartender. "He's waiting."

[Han Antilles]

Han smiled. And that is the reason why I love that woman. Always has something to say...

He swirled his drink and downed it all in one gulp, then slammed the glass loudly on the counter. "And that is my limit!" he remarked with a sly grin to the Chiss. "Have the tab added to the table over..."-- he glanced over his shoulder to where Corran and the others were sitting-- ".. there."

He slid off the stool and neared the blonde smuggler, a hint of alcohol on his breath. "Sorry I lost track back there, but they were dying for a story and of course," he eyed the Rogue patch on his jacket, "I had to give them one."

A thumb trailed down her cheek before she could protest his affection. "So did you miss me?"

[Samantha Koortyn]

Sam rolled her eyes, distinctly uncomfortable at Han's outward display of affection, but she didn't jerk her head away as she was usually wont to do. "Not really," she replied, the right corner of her mouth turning upward in a crooked grin of mischief.

"Things got a little... intimate... back there," the smuggler added by way of explanation, tilting her head back in the direction of the bar where she'd left Corran talking to the other woman. Casually catching the bartender's eye, she surreptitiously placed a few more credits on the bar to pay Han's tab so Corran wouldn't get stuck with it.

"So, what do you want to do now?" she asked. She didn't feel very comfortable rejoining Corran but didn't want to call it a night either.

[Han Antilles]

Intimate, huh? That's the first time I heard her say that in a sentence... Han thought as Sam turned back to eye the table again. He took that time to compose himself before she turned back, then noticed the credits on the bar.

Pretty sly...

Well, since Corran was busy tonight, it was an opportunity to show her a night out. Her question opened that option for him. He thought about what to do while he eyed a Hutt slithering up to the bar and shouting "Dopa boga noga!", holding up two plump fingers.

The tender nodded and drew two mugs of something yellow and fizzy, which he sat in front of the Hutt. The big slug knocked them both back, barely taking a breath between them. The Hutt then turned one enormous, bilious eye in his direction and belched loudly.

I guess that's our cue to leave...

"Well, I think the first thing I suggest is leave this place," he replied. They could always bar-hop to another pub if need be, that is if Sam was in the mood. "Then we can see what trouble we can find."

He combed his hair with his fingers as he eyed the exit. "Unless you have something else in mind?"

[Corran Antilles]

Corran's look traced from Zondra, who was small-talking, to his friends at the bar. Even when Sam was denying it always, it was obviously that she and Han were in love. Corran sighed, suddenly realizing how much he was missing such a feeling. He looked back to Zondra. What was he doing here? He knew how such conversations ended always. He knew that most females liked how he looked and a one night stand was mostly fun. At least for a moment. But after a few days he wouldn't even remember her name and the emptiness inside him would just be bigger.

"Excuse me." Corran said, getting up from his chair. "I had forgotten that I have a briefing very early next morning. I need to go back to the base." Zondra looked slighty disappointed but shrugged as he walk to the bar.

"Hey, you two." Corran forced a smile as he addressed his sister and wingman. "Just wanted to say that I go back to the base. A databook and some holoTV is waiting for me..."

[Samantha Koortyn]

Sam frowned, her brow furrowing in concern as her half-brother approached them. He looked sad all of a sudden, when earlier he'd seemed to be enjoying himself, flirting with the other smuggler. She had been prepared to take Han's suggestion and go elsewhere, or even just back to her ship for the night, and leave Corran to his fun. But now she wasn't so sure.

The smuggler looked between the two very different men, to whom she felt the closest out of anyone else in the galaxy. "We were just leaving too; why don't you come with us?" she asked. "I"m not sure where we're going..."

She trailed off, looking to Han for help. She knew that he might not be happy that he was not leaving alone with her, but at the end of the night they would be going home together, so there was no reason Corran shouldn't join them for now.

[Dac Starborn]

Dac Starborn was thirsty.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp It mattered little that his particular genes made it easier for him to thrive in the blasting heat of Tatooine; no one could take the trek he'd had and not at least needed a drink at the end.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Well, perhaps Luke Skywalker, Dac thought soberly, surprised at the feeling of bitterness that tugged at his thoughts. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, had offered to teach him the ways of the Jedi, and Dac had turned him down. There was no point, he told himself, in groaning over that. The fact remained, however, that he could've used a few of those Jedi tricks over the years they'd been apart... Three, if he remembered correctly. The Dune Sea had a perculiar way of messing with one's sense of time.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Dac straightened his back, craning his neck up to look at the sign outside of the bar. "Never thought I'd be so glad to see one of these," he heard himself murmur. He raised a hand up to the cowl that covered his head and obscured his face, twitching it to one side as he shot a surreptitious look down the way. It was unlikely that any of Gerin's gang would be in this city, much less walking this particular street. But stranger things had happened.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Strange indeed, he reflected, confirming that no one he recognized was in sight. A small boy on Myrkr gets picked up by the top-of-the-pile smuggling group in the Republic as a mechanic, works on the flagship Wild Karrde, leaves after a few years of service to pursue his own way in the galaxy, ending up in the middle of a scheme to kidnap Han Solo and blasting their way out of an Imperial shipyard along with Luke Skywalker and Solo's sidekick Chewbacca. After all of that, being made the target of a local gang and dumped out in the Dune Sea on Tatooine seemed perfectly reasonable.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Letting out a sigh that made him feel older than he had any right to feel, Dac started forward and entered the waiting cantina.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp On most other worlds his entrance would've caused most people to pause in a moment of curiosity. Completely shrouded in a brown robe with the hood up, Dac would've looked suspicious on many worlds, perhaps intimidating. His posture was erect, confident, with just the glimmer of light playing across his chin as he moved towards the cantina's counter, brushing past those assembled.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp And in his wake, following him like a phantom, the Force disappeared.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Unnoticeable to most, but obvious to those who were sensitive to the Force, the boy simply didn't seem to exist. No sense of presence, no emotions or thoughts. As he passed, those nearby seemed to vanish as well, their sense abruptly reappearing after he was a few meters away.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Dac reached the cantina's bar without incident, signaling for the bartender who was turned away from him. "Excuse me," his raised voice came, sounding very hoarse in his own ears. It had been far, far too long since he'd had more than a few drops to drink.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The Chiss turned towards him, and Dac felt his hair stand up on end. A ripple of surprise ran through him as stared at that blue skin, those glowing red eyes...
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The only time Dac had ever seen another alien of the same species were from the holos of Grand Admiral Thrawn's communiqués.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The Chiss interrupted his memories, sounding irritated. "Do you want anything, or are you just going to waste some more of my time?" the bartender asked in a voice that somehow managed to be both cultured and gruff at the same time.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp "Water," Dac said, flicking his eyes over the collection behind the cantina's counter. Well-stocked, it seemed, as far as cantinas went. It wasn't the Starry Tower, but...
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp "This is a cantina, not a well," the Chiss bartender said, speaking as he would to a child that had done something naughty and couldn't quite understand what it was. "You come in here, you'd better be-"
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp "Water," Dac repeated, this time more firmly. He didn't want to raise his voice more than necessary, partly because it hurt his throat, partly because he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. Reaching up to his cowl, he slipped his hand inside of his robe and extracted the necessary currency. "Please."
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The Chiss eyed him for a moment with those uncomfortably bright red eyes. "Your decision," he finally relented, getting a glass of it from a dispenser and handing it off to the boy with considerably more deference.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The Force supposedly could have a strong effect on the mind, Dac mused as he took a long draw from the glass of water. But all in all, he thought money was far more powerful.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Setting the glass down on the counter in front of him, the young man reached up and pulled the cowl back, revealing his browned skin and white hair. Hanging around his neck was a bead-and-thread necklace that probably could've been found on any street vendor across the planet, perhaps trying to blend in with the local color. To most people he was cute as well as handsome, his face seeming serious and controlled which most took as a sign of maturity.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp In reality it was because he was bored most of the time. But they didn't need to know that, now did they?
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Turning in the stool which he had taken perch on, he cast his eyes around the remaining patrons of the room, enjoying the feeling of condensation between his fingers.

[Corran Antilles]

Corran smiled to Sam. She tried to appear tough all the time, but he knew her sensitive side. His sister cared for him and he liked that feeling. But Corran knew also that she and her boyfriend Han deserved some time alone. That they were on the same planet at the same time was rare enough for the smuggler and the fighter pilot. "Don't worry about me, lil'sis. I will be fine." To emphasize his words he smiled wider as suddenly...

...It was almost like blacking out. He couldn't sense anything in the Force anymore. For him it was like it would be for a non-Force-user to loose vision, hearing and sense of smell at the same time. Corran gasped and grabbed Sam's arm as support as he started to sway.

Taking a deep breath Corran turned his head slightly and saw that newcomer. A boy, maybe a teenager still or in his early 20's, stepped to the bar not that far from them, talking to the barkeeper.

Sam and Han changed a confused worried look. "Ysalamiri..." Corran murmured.

[Jelt]

A shape slipped quietly through the door, exactly like any other being that wouldn't want to be noticed, and so she was not. The tavern was a busy one, people going to and fro, but she didn't care right now. She certainly wasn't here for a place to rest. No, the <i>Graystar</i> served that purpose well enough. She wasn't here for a drink. Cyborgs didn't <i>need</i> drinks. Not that she was a cyborg or anything...
She was here because she had felt something. Dalve probobly would have called it the leading of the Force or something, but she didn't see the point. For her, the Force was a tool, and if it told her where to go when business was slow, so much the better. She would always take advantage of added benefits. But when it came down to it, the Force was the one and only reason she was here. She had scoped out the place before entering and knew for sure there was one, maybe more Force-sensitives in the room, as well as a blank space that could only mean ysalamiri. She usually stayed away from these sorts of situations but instead of leaving she had shunted the Force away from herself and cut herself completely off. So she couldn't use it now....but it still gave her an edge in an emergency. And now she was here. She would be recognized at any time she was sure. So she wasn't as well known as Boba Fett. That didn't mean that the underworld didn't easily recognize the chrome skull and eye peice that were her mark, or tight fitting black jumpsuit and the array of weapons on her black utility belt. As far as she knew, there was no one else who looked like her in the whole universe. But who cared? If she was recognized, it might mean another job. She could always go for that.
Ignoring the bar, she headed for a corner booth and sat down, pulling out a datapad and several datacards. But with her right eye hidden by the fake eye replacement and her other by her long black hair, no one could tell whether she was reading it or not. She was not. She was eyeing every patron with two fully healthy sparkling eyes. Two eyes that landed squarely on a certain man. A certain man that might have been off balance from too much drink, but she knew better. Her eyes followed his to a figure in a brown cloak. So this was it. The Force-sensitive and the ysalamiri. She settled back in the booth to watch the action. <i>This could get interesting...</i>