A Captains Paradise

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

A month off, one bloody month off. It was torture for a man who lived on a clock, and by his work desk. But no, apparently this was warranted after a small stree tumor was located in his skull. Now he was here, on his first day on Bakura. It was strange for Carlyle to not feel the tight black fabric of a uniform on him. Instead, he wore a loose fitting orange button up, which was decorated in green flowers. The captain walked through the packed evening streets, searching for something. That something being the "Pink Lady", a bar and nightclub Artemis Margs had suggested to his Captain to peruse.

Since it was the only thing he had to do, Carlyle walked through the crowded streets till he saw it, there in the distance. Hanging above the crowds, a pink hologram of a woman suggestively stretching. Carlyle made a beeline for it, sliding into the door from the evening crowds and into the club. It was damp, dingy, and dark. Carlyle made his way to the smoky atmosphere, and to the bar. "One Corellian whiskey please." he said, looking through the bars patrons. What a dump.

[member="Zagara Vao"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

(OOC: post background music/ambiance)

Easy pickings.

By all standards, Bakura was a backwater. The citizenfolk were not accustomed to the decadence and luxury of Republican space. Just three days in and she'd already raked in more than half a grand in nuggets - go figure. Zagara's current set for the evening was casual at best - none of the more taxing, sensually engaging numbers she usually reserved for high-profile clientele. As she liked to tell herself on worlds like this one - easy pickings. What seemed like regular patrons were all there - Ithorians, Rodians, few Trandoshans, Gamorrean swine, humans, Duggs, the occasional Mandalorian no doubt looking for leads on good bounties - Wait.

The red-skinned Twi'lek was in her skimpy exotic dancing outfit on stage, casually dancing to the beat around one of three poles with two other Twi'leks on the other two in the background, when she saw an oddity stand out from by the bar. Beyond the haze of deathsticks, she could see one lone man in orange and green. You'd think he was from Naboo, she thought to herself as she ignored it at first and kept dancing. A few more numbers down the set though, and she couldn't ignore it anymore.

She actually stopped dancing, singling him out and covering her eyes with her hand to shield some of the spotlight away as to get a better look. "Are.. are those flowers? For real?", she said out loud. Her abrupt stop caused everyone - from the band, to the other dancers and even the regulars, to stop, turn around and look at who happened to catch the attention of a Twi'lek dancer so much it derailed the entire performance.

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

Carlyle was in his third whiskey glass when the dancer approached him. Oh Gods, what was a man supposed to do? Was she soliciting him? Was this genuine, or was this some kind of prank. The captain internally cursed himself, it must have been the hair, still combed and neat from the Vindicator. He could feel the eyes of the patrons, burrowing into his skull from every angle, and meekly shrunk at her. By the force, she was gorgeous. What she was wearing, it was so, so skimpy, and she was so gorgeous. There was so little left, but so much more he wanted to touch....Carlyle switched on again, and took a mental note, this could wait for a nice lonely night. He raised his glass, and looked at her, "I urgh..." he mumbled from beneath the glass, "C-could you take a step back please, you're kind of in my, well, space."

[member="Zagara Vao"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

Despite her scantily clad outfit, Zagara stood confidently, almost defiantly with her hands on her hips as she stared the much older, and much taller off-worlder up and down. She leaned forward a bit and looked up into the man's eyes, not minding any of the mumbling that came from behind his little Corellian drink.

"Wait a minute", she began as she leaned back to straighten her posture and finally smile - a sense of delight and amusement reflecting on her face as she gave him a toothy grin and laughed a little. "Aren't you from that Star Destroyer that just jumped in? You're one of those officer-types, aren't you? Every time an imperial ship warps in, this place always gets flooded with you lot. Now I'll admit, I'm not from here, but I'm here often enough to know a galactic deckswabber when I see one." Her voice was small and seemed full of youth - about as much arrogance as well. Normally a master would slap or beat a slave for being so familiar with patrons, or coming off so strongly. Zagara however, was different.

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"I am..." he said meekly, looking around the room, "I'm a, uh, I'm on stress leave..." he mumbled quietly, gently shifting back in his stool. He leaned back too far, and tumbled over, onto the dirty floor. "Kark!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. Carlyle could now feel the tumor in his head pulsate, against his skull, and he groaned, "Karking hell!" He growled like a wounded animal, "Yeah, you got me.." he said, picking up the stool, and shifting it away from her. His hand rubbed against his forehead and he closed his eyes, trying not to focus on the intense pain.

[member="Zagara Vao"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

"Hey hey, are you alright?", Zagara now asked in a more genuinely concerned voice as she helped the man up, holding him by his upper left arm and guiding his upper back as she helped him back onto his feet and brushed off the dust from his orange button-up.

"Hey, what happened back there?", she asked again as she held him by the shoulders, by no means smiling but frowning, thinking she may have done something wrong. "Do you need to sit?" Her headtails danced left and right as her head bobbed, studying the man as she checked if he'd injured himself from the fall.

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"No, no, I've suffered far worse injuries," The captain said, ignoring the fact his tail bone stung like a motherkarker. "I'm, I'm not used to this sort of situation." he said, brushing her cleanly manicured hands from his shoulder. It wasn't a lie, the only time Carlyle ever was in a social situation, was either brown nosing admirals and Moff's at parties, or with his crew dining. Even in those scenarios, there was an air of decorum about it, where he had to act elagently, and where he was still on duty. All the mores and customs of the cantina were lost on the captain. "Apologies, but if you're soliciting me, for well, more carnal exploits, I'll..." he paused, and looked over her. How could he deny that body? Those gorgeoues eyes? That firey red skin? Unfortunately, for the captain's libido, his senses kicked in. "I'll have to decline."

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

"Carnal.. I.."

Zagara's firebrand red skin flushed even more at the thought of it. Her brows furrowed and her face frowned as she took her hands off him right away. "The nerve!", she snapped as she was besides herself. "Listen mister, if you think your demure attack pattern'll work on a Twi'lek, you've got another thing-"

And it was at that moment that it sank in - he was a naval officer.

"... coming." Her facial expression relaxed a little more as she started acting a little more sultry. "Well, who's soliciting who right? Maybe I just enjoy your company. You know, off-worlders are still a rare find conversation-wise", she continued as she resumed her cool demeanor and crossed her arms across her chest. "So, what's your name? You gonna' buy a Twi'lek a drink?"

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"Demure attack pattern?" He asked, quizically, "What in karks sake are you on about?" He asked as she snapped. Wasn't that what these Twi'lek strippers did for some extra cash? Screw their clientele? Carlyle was taken back a bit, and honestly felt a bit bad about the situation. He'd just accused this woman, one he didn't know, of being of dubious business origins. She could have been a karking saint for all he knew, and he'd just called her scum. For Carlyle, that was a bit rough. His ego would have been wounded, if he'd been called a lowly ensign, or midshipman. "I-I apologize if I had at all bothered you madam." he said, before turning to the barkeep, "Another Corellian whiskey for myself, and what of you madame?" He asked.

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

"I.. suppose it's fine." Zagara sighed and popped up on the stool next to his, resting her elbows on the counter as she turned inward to face the Ithorian barkeep. "Corellian ale", she mumbled softly. Moments later after receiving her drink and her first huge gulp down, she wiped the light foam forming on her mouth before looking at him beside her and continued probing.

"So what brings you here?", her headtail jerking softly as was typical in common Twi'leki language - usually found only in Ryl, but it was a mannerism at this point for her kind. "Doesn't look like you're after the girls", she said musingly before taking another sip and then lightly putting her glass down with a soft clink. "You running away from something?"

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"Stress leave." The officer replied honestly, "I have a tumor in my head the size of a Gamorreans toenail." He said, sipping on the whiskey, "And I made an ass out of myself in front of what is now a Grand Moff, and instead of immediately shooting me for insubordination, they gave me a month off to relieve my stress. But instead of giving me my choice of planet, they chose this backwater." He said quietly, "So, I have twenty years of credits saved, I'm planning on drinking myself away on my time off."

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

"That doesn't sound very productive", Zagara replied sheepishly as she turned away for a bit to sip a little more ale before sighing and turning back to him. "My name's Zagara. Zagara Vao. I'm not really from here though - I'm from Ryloth. You ever been there? You seem like you've been a lot of places."

An unconscious habit, but a cute one nonetheless - Zagara playfully but gently rocked her stool back and forth - the instinctual infant motion still not lost on someone so young. To be sure she was growing well into early adulthood, but one who's been around fully developed Twi'leks could tell - she'd still grow. Not like that deterred her however. The sight was amusing anyway for the more observant and curious of the patrons - the Mandalorian by the corner cussed and laughed at the image before him.

A young Twi'lek bothering, even badgering military personnel. Much older than the former. Well I'll be.

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"I don't have a wife, a son, anyone but my sister and nephew." he said, "I spend my whole time pilotting ships, commanding ships, and shipping whatever my bosses went." The captain said, swirling the whiskey around, and then sipping some more of it. "But my name, you deserve to know my name at the very least. I'm Carlyle, I'm from Dosuun." He said, "So, what was life like on Ryloth?" he asked, "Or were you the wandering type? Always heading from place to place?"

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

"Wild Space. Do the Yuzhaan Vong still appear when you're that far out?", she joked with a smile as she chuckled a little, her hands now clutching onto the edges of her stool's seat. "They say if you're trying to hide - whether from the Hutts, the Mandalorians or the Jedi, that's where you go. I wouldn't think twice." She grinned and scooted her stool a little closer as she started to feel more comfortable with the off-worlder.

"Ryloth was.. unpleasant", she continued, "I was a slave. My mother was a slave. We lived in one of the quarters in Lessu - supposedly it was already a bigshot city, but it still wasn't much after you get a taste of the core worlds. She then looked at herself, and then around the pub absently before remarking further, "I'm a dancer. This is all I know." She then shook her head, laughed at herself and then turned back to him.

"I'm sorry, Carlyle. You're on vacation. I-I should keep it light."

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"Lady, I've seen, and done things you could only have nightmares about." He said, "It's all for the greater good, but, I get where you're coming from." He then paused, "But feel no need to lighten up, I'm not on vacation, I'm on mandated vacation. Signed by Grand Moff Fortan herself." he added with a sardonic smile. He paused, and looked at his watch, it was of local make, and adequately told the time. "It's getting a little late, and I think I've consumed enough alcohol here." he said, "Are you safe to get home? Or are you performing some more?"

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

Zagara shook her head lightly. "I'm done for the day." She gulped down the bottom of her Corellian ale before burping softly; wiping her mouth one more time against the bare red skin of her forearm. "What about you?", she asked as she pushed the glass away, back towards the barkeep who instinctively grabbed it in the middle of all his barkeep-ing.

"You got a place to stay? When I'm far out like this, I usually just sleep on the floor backstage. Like the other girls", she said modestly but sheepishly with a grin. "Or is Mr. First Order going to go back to his Star Destroyer in the sky and sleep in a chrome cell?", she playfully jeered.

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"Well, I'm in a motel." he said, "It isn't too far away from here, in fact it's only a few blocks away," he said, slipping off of his stool. "You could gladly sleep there, I have a couch, and space." He said, sighing, and finishing off his glass. He then paused, "What about your clothes, do you have something else you wear? Or do you usually dress like that?" he asked.

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

"You think I walk around spaceports dressed like a Hutt's slavegirl?", she rebuked with a laugh as she waved her hand to perish the thought. "Hang on, I'll just go get changed. I don't turn down offers to sleep in warm soft places for the evening." She quickly jumped off her stool, walked backstage, and was back in less than 5 minutes looking a bit more like a scoundrel now than anything else. All she seemed to have to her name was a small satchel that was slung across her torso.

"Hopefully it's one of the more decent ones, Carlyle", she jested as she patted herself down to get some of the dust off her. "You know, not the ones old creeps take local girls too. I knew this off-worlder once, he totally had waaaaay too much to drink, and ended up bedding a Trandoshan - the ugly junkers. Imagine that!"

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

"I-I don't like what you're implying, I do drink in moderation." he said a little defensively, before offering his arm for her to link with. "Now, shall we go?" he asked, "I don't know anything about the nightlife here, but I suspect, that much like it's clientele, will be rather scummy." He added, "Nonetheless, we shall endeavour, correct?" he asked with a somewhat charming tone.

[member="Sonorous Daemon"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

"Scummy's an understatement", she said with a grin as she wrapped her smaller arm around his and clung to him casually. "If you asked me, if I had to choose between kissing one of the local concs (concubines) or bantha poodoo, I'd be covered in brown by now!", she laughed and shook her head. Being of smaller frame and weight, she definitely would have been light, almost as a feather, even when leaning against the veteran officer.

"Gee, you galactic folk really have a way of making basic sound tolerable at the very least, don't you?", she said in reply, offering her sardonic wit in return for his otherwise elegant prose in Galactic Basic.

"You mentioned earlier that you'd done things I wouldn't even dream of", she then suddenly dropped as the two would have already been walking. "I'm no fighter, but I've seen my share of scum across the sector. Try me."

[member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]