Faction Aftermath: The Best is Yet to Come [Darkwire]

[Darkwire Prophet]

[Jatz Music]​

Verdos Jatz Club
Near Upcity (District 19), Denon

The mid-town lounge was used to a slower pace. Mellow tunes wafted forth from its entrance and a little through the thicker walls in this part of town, as patrons mosied in and out occasionally. Though the place was far from the venues enjoyed by the Corpos and their ilk, it was decidedly more of a cloud chaser's choice of bar than a type a shadowrunner would opt for.

And yet here they were tonight. Shadowrunners and shady types, big and small time, newbies and veterans, had crowded into Verdos for tonight.

There was something being celebrated, though it wasn't entirely clear what that was to the other patrons. Some big accomplishment, at least, that had Darkwire itching to take over a jatz club rather than their usual watering holes. Not many of the patrons decided to stick around to ask, however, slowly trickling out over the first hour or so. One or two of the staff might have found it irritating to lose their regulars, Darkwire was a little louder, a little rowdier, but despite expectations otherwise most of them paid for their drinks just fine.

And as long as the drinks were flowing, the music was playing, and the crowd was vibing, Verdos would let them stay. That was a relief to most of the newcomers tonight, who simply wanted a place to relax, unwind, and relish the thrill of their achievement in true, Darkwire style.

Truly, the best was yet to come.

Spoiler: Tags

Airal Thamne
Anakin Stormrunner
Aren D'Shade
"Bloody" Bill Renfroe
Brie Jaxx
Cartri Keswoll
Cassus Akovin
Chelara "Chel" DuCote
Chloe Santhe
Daiya
Deryn Kaaldos
Elkin "Big Cheese" Magor
Gray Venasir
Haden Del
Jerec Asyr
Kole Eckttor
Kimiko Taiyou
QEMD-15 Echo
Saija Kwann
Spark
5-WCH (Switchblade)
Subject 648 Slipknot
Xan Deesa
Yula Perl

 

[Daiya]

"Yeah, I usually hang out at the Blue Flame, but I thought I'd come here tonight." Daiya didn't even bat an eye at the bartender's prying implication. She certainly was new around here, but that wasn't exactly her fault. Denon was a huge planet, no one could ever run out of places to be new. "Try something different, shake things up, ya know?"

"I think I recall that spot. Over in Seven Corners, yeah?" The bartender continued as she nodded at the question. "That's run by the Shane fellow, right? I remember him, he's come in here a few times."

"Shenn? Yeah, Shenn owns the Blue Flame, I just didn't know he liked jatz..." the girl mused, trailing off as the thought continued in her own mind. Her eyes fell down to the shirt she wore, emblazoned with the wild face of Christine Dellard . A flutter of thoughts passed through her mind, jumping through subjects until it settled on back on Shenn Rosham again. Suddenly, she perked up, her eyes glowing bright and big, announcing her new idea as clearly as if the workings of her mind were on ready display to anyone nearby, "Oh! Maybe we could get him to come by tonight. I could get him on comms, anything I should say to him?"

"Sure," the bartender said, leaning back from the counter and picking up a glass to clean it. "Tell Shenn that he's free to come anytime he likes, but his name still isn't big enough to use to get free drinks. Or for you, miss, any drinks with alcohol."

The teen frowned as her face fell, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes rolled at the barkeep. She had hardly expected someone working at a slow-paced, dingy rathskeller to be so sharp-witted, Daiya hadn't even gotten around to making her request yet! Her instinctive whine became a groan, exasperated as she threw out a, "Fine, just give me a Death Star Destruction or something."

She wasn't as pleased to be carrying around the tall, colorful can of her beverage, but there were other customers to serve and Daiya quickly lost the needed attention before she could ask for something less conspicuous. Shaking her head, the girl walked off with the energy drink anyway, determined to make it count for tonight. The music wasn't great, and the bartender was a dweezer, but at least she was surrounded by her people. And tonight, there was not job to complete, no danger to fear, just the promise of fun and friendship awaiting.

And actually, now that she thought about it, if she swayed at just the right tempo, the music had a certain charming quality to it.

It was going to be a good night.

 

[Jennifer Blanchard]

It’d been a little while since Jenn made her rounds out on Denon, and away from her own bar. That was fine. She had her job and it was keeping her plenty busy. Some days it did feel like she was becoming an NPC in her own life, but to be honest? It was nice, she didn’t have to worry about galactic governments, just fixing things, setting up jobs, and throwing tools out to those Runners who could use it. Hearing about a night out at a Jatz club? She could dress well enough for that.

She did have some outfits from her really early days, and she knew enough about blending in with the people who had the credits. Darkwire would need someone who knew a few things. And if she found the right people, who knew, maybe she could find some clouds to chase. They always had something she wanted. It was just a matter of if she needed it. That was the big change with Jenn to her younger self.

Silver dress, black nerf hide jacket, black boots, black belt with her side back attached to the belt. She had a few little odds and ends that could be useful later on, if things lit up. More to throw and help make a distraction, but the Fixer was more focused on getting herself a drink and then giving the club a survey before diving into the activity.

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Loud and rowdy. That was more than could be said about Brie, despite being a shadowrunner for quite some time now. She had her beliefs and principles already made out before she joined, even a few years before that, actually. She had been... ''led astray'' once or twice, but with people like Daiya and Xan Deesa , it was next to impossible not to have been at some time. She was okay with it, and would not deny that they always had fun no matter what mischief they were up to. Xan was like a big sister to her, and Daiya someone she would call a best friend.

As Brie entered the usually calm and cozy jatz club, a group of adult patrons left muttering something about the youngsters invading their club and spoiling their evening. It seemed that they would have the club all by themselves tonight, which was nothing she would complain at. Tonights chosen attire consisted of an oversized beige knitted sweater, black slim-fit denim trousers, a pair of low sneakers, and her favourite denim jacket which she carried in front.

She glanced around the club and soon spotted a face by the bar that made her smile and approach the fellow shadowrunner.

''Hey, Daiya!'' she greeted her friend cheerfully before giving her a hug and took the seat beside her. ''I heard the Corpos bite the dust! You guys did good, from what I heard! You good after that?''

 

[Zole]

Zole sat at the bar, hunched over a fishbowl sized cocktail. She had plenty of vices. These included her current drug of choice being a spice blend known as Bliss, and constantly altering her body with new cybernetics.

Alchocolism wasn't on that list, fortunately. She did like colourful, fruity drinks. They didn't seem to match her personality but she clearly didn't care about that.

"Down with the corpos!" she echoed, lifting the giant bowl of bright orange and pink. It held four straws so she could make a real impact on it when she drank.

Zole had no real stake in the game, but she wasn't a fan of suits. More importantly her vices cost credits and lots of trouble meant lots of credits floating around.

Brie Jaxx Jennifer Blanchard Daiya

 

[Twitch']

Things were getting stuck in a routine. Day in and day out of doing the same movements all so at the end of the day she could say the same darn thing: "Atleast I survived". Sure that was nice but hardly did it make for an interesting life. Though Twitch was somewhat content with it, routine kept her sane from her occasional encounters with Xan or some of the shadier citizens of Denon but it started to infect the Sith Refugee with a sense of foreboding. This was life now, doing nothing but the bare minimum to keep on going, and hardly having anything to remember it by or any faces to hold onto in her head. Just her and the odd voices of the "machine spirits" every now and then. It was like durasteel wool digging into the back of her head only to snap open and bleed through when Twitch realized that the exact times when she got up and went to bed was exactly the same as during her time living with Sith curfews... Something needed to change.

Xan tipped her off that a bunch of her peeps would be having a celebration here at the Verdos. Quite the walk away and it only highlighted how empty her stomach was, thankfully she saved a meager amount to afford some drinks... she hoped. Walking in and taking in the air of the room she immediately felt out of her place. The interior of this joint had ritzy written all over it. The type of place her mother would have insisted on dressing up for in a nice evening dress. Twitch meanwhile could only afford to go for the starving artist aesthetic wearing a solid black turtleneck, black pants, her trusty combat boots and a cute little beret that rested on her head parted slightly off to one side. Though it seemed wildly out of place was the new in at the moment for the Verdos.

I'm here... now what? echoed in Twitch's mind as she stood at the entrance her face blank with an expression that looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming speeder. Did people drink? Dance? Was she supposed to just go up to the nearest random person and converse!? Things that were all positively alien to her.

The closest one got to a dance in the empire was a spar or march. Alcohol was precious and talking to randos? What better way to invite the attention of the inquisitors. This already caused the young woman's mind to go blank, paralyzed with old anxiety. This was already too much and she needed something to help. She scanned around looking for any out to escape this terrifying nightmare of a situation. Her eyes locked on to what she could only assume was a counter and she walked towards it with a nervous pep to her step.

A drink at the bar was what she needed. Loosen the mouth and all of that jatz... Atleast that's what the holoshows implied. Wait.. that was the bar she was walking towards right?

 

[Daiya]

To its credit, the energy drink did what it was supposed to do. In only a few minutes, the teen was starting to feel the effects of it. Her body moved more easily to the music, and a smile lit up her face to see others from Darkwire milling about in the club. Her smile held a glimmer of mischief anytime she saw the bartender getting flustered, or another patron in the club giving them a side-eye. Right now all the Shadowrunners, Daiya included, were on top of the world!

If they wanted to take over a jatz club, who was going to stop them?

When her reverie was interrupted, Daiya nearly jumped. She jumped up in earnest a second later, a squealing sound coming from her chest as the girl embraced her best friend. "Brie! I didn't even know you were back planetside!"

The teen could barely contain her excitement enough to sit down again, but she managed it somehow, bouncing in her seat and grinning at Brie. She nodded eagerly at the remark about the DireX, and beamed when the older teen praised her for it. "Yeah, a bunch of us went out to a space station, which was weird. And I'm okay, I'm good, it was tense and a few shadowrunners got killed." She looked mournful for a moment, but then tipped her head from side to side, "It was gonna happen, ya know? Can't take down a rancor without getting a few scratches. But I'm here, and now that Corpo isn't!"

Daiya managed to lean back in her seat for just a moment, springing forward to take another sip of her energy drink. She spied the empty place in front of Brie, "Aren't you going to get anything? Here, use mine, I've got a nice cushion now."

The young shadowrunner pulled the credit chit out of her pocket and set it on the table in front of Brie. Her bottom lip protruded for a moment and the girl looked up at her older friend, "You're probably old enough to get something for real." She picked up her energy drink can and shook it, making a clinking sound from the widget bouncing around inside. Wiping the expression on her face, Daiya looked up at her friend hopefully, "This was all I could get. If you have better luck, get two?"

Brie Jaxx Jennifer Blanchard Zole Twitch'​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

''Oh...'' she uttered thoughtfully, as Daiya gave her the bad news about a few shadowrunners had to pay with their lives on the mission up there. She joined Daiya in a moment of mourn, but before long her energic friend was at it again. Brie had never seen Daiya truly crushed or sad, but by this moment outwardly shown emotions was not necessary for the teens to hear and sense the others mood. More over, Brie saw Daiya as the easy-going type, strong and independent despite her younger age.

Brie put the jacket in her lap and examined the credit chip put in front of her.

''Someone earned the big credits out there, huh?'' she said with a chuckle, smiling at her friend and prepared to share a giggle with her. In a way, those giggles was freeing for the older blonde and she enjoyed them dearly whenever they occured. Ahxel, the boy and charmer she had met on Frego, had even pointed it out that they decorated her face well. Brie were not far from a giggle whenever she were with him or Daiya.

As Daiya hinted out a double order, Brie knew that look. Daiya wanted to get... bubbly tonight.

''Uhmm...''

Brie hesitated for a moment. Her glance went from the barman occupied with another customer, to Daiya, back to the barman and then to Daiya again. A second later, the barman were suddenly standing right in front of her.

''What would there be, miss?''

''Oh! Uh, yeah... A...''

Kriff, she were going to make a fool out of herself if she didn't come up with something. Also, it would raise the barmans suspicions. She really wished Ruby Jaxx was here now. She were even a bit more older, and that would would have helped them both out.

''A... Port in a Storm...? M-make it two... One for my friend over there.'' she squeezed forth and motioned to a chadra-fan sitting in one of the booths behind them. Obviously, she made it all up and had no clue who that chadra-fan was. Once again, Daiya had worked her influence upon her, wether it be good or bad. Neither did Brie knew that she had choosen one of the most potent drinks this side of the galaxy. She had just read the name by the enterance and thought the name was cool.

''Are you sure you and your friend can handle that?'' she barman asked with a raised eyebrow.

''Yeah, s-sure! Why wouldn't we?'' Brie insisted, now forced to walk the line or this would be a very short night.

The barman mumbled something about suiting themselves before he turned and made the two foggy dinks with lightning in them. As he sat them down in front of Brie, she took them and discreetly motioned to Daiya to come along to a free booth, at the far, very far side of the club so the barman wouldn't spot them.

Daiya Jennifer Blanchard Zole Twitch'

 

[Daiya]

"Totes big credits, Brie!" Daiya told her friend, gesturing broadly with her arms to illustrate the payday. Darkwire had offered way too much in order to take out Xopsaloff, the young shadowrunner couldn't even fathom where they had gotten it all. Even counting the runners who hadn't lived to cash in on it.

Her friend seemed more preoccupied by what Daiya was asking of her. The teen grinned as Brie picked up the credit chit and managed to get on the barkeep's radar. She tried to hold back a giggle as the older girl feigned friendship with some random stranger as a pretense to ordering, biting her lip to keep a straight face within the bartender's field of vision. This was a new side to Brie that she had never witnessed, and the teen was loving it.

Nor had she heard of the Port in a Storm drink, but Daiya was entranced almost instantly when the pair of drinks were set down.

Following at a pace after Brie, the young shadowrunner finally let out her held breath as she marveled at her friend's ingenuity. Daiya sat down with relief, her mouth in an open grin as her eyes panned back and forth between Brie and the drinks in front of them. "Oh my stars, Brie, you were a-mazing! Thanks!"

Daiya grabbed the glass nearest to her, and took a tentative sip of the foggy drink. She could feel the electric charge as her tongue touched the liquid, and it rippled through her body as a tingle. "Oooo," she cooed upon first impression, and then put the glass to her lips again. Another sip crossed her tongue, and the tingling sensation began to grow. First more intense, and then deeper like a burning. Soon it spread out towards the whole of her body, less like being warmed by a fire, and more like she was the fire. "Oh stars, Brie, it's hot!"

The girl panted, tongue out, trying to cool herself down. She set the drink down, waving a hand in front of her face as she glanced up at her friend. Daiya figured she must have looked ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. She was burning up all of the sudden, nothing she did made a bit of difference. Reaching for her first drink, the teen tried to take a sip of that to cool her down. It worked as well as a drop of water falling onto sand.

She stood, her eyes wild as the girl searched for some way to douse the fire in her body. Spotting a woman sitting nearby, green against the orange and pink liquid sitting in the giant bowl before her, Daiya made a mad dash to her table. Grabbing for the enormous beverage, she lifted it up and took several giant gulps.

It helped. Barely.

Gingerly, the girl set down the bowl again in front of the Mirialan woman, who was probably quite upset with her now, and offered her the barest of smiles. "Whoops. I didn't mean to." Daiya surveyed how much she had drunk from the bowl, barely enough to quench her undying thirst and now the fire was already roaring back. It made it hard to think. "I just saw it sitting there, and...I'll pay you back I swear!"

Daiya returned sheepishly to the booth with Brie, wiping at her mouth and checking her shirt to see if she had spilled. The burning seemed almost manageable now, like an annoying sound she could not quite tune out. A buzz at the back of her head, one that licked with a heated tongue, to accompany the one growing at the front of her head. "Port in a Storm? Where did you come up with that one, Brie?"

Brie Jaxx Jennifer Blanchard Zole Twitch'​

 

[Zole]

She had hoped someone enticing would come and sit at one of the stools at the bar. Zole's addictive personality stretched beyond alchocol, spice and body modification afterall.

Instead she was left with criminals so young that they were being pushed for ID. Or at least pushed enough to declare their age that he could safely assume they weren't stinging him for the local cops.

Zole sighed.

She did not sigh when the younger one downed half of her drink. Half of an exceptionally potent cocktail, Zole might have found amusing once she had calmed down.

She turned and followed Daiya back to her table.

"I assume that you don't have credit chits to pay me back for the drink now then?" she asked, standing beside their booth with hands on hips.

 

[Brie Jaxx]

When they settled down in the booth, Brie spared a second backwards glance to really make sure the barman had caught her fooling him. She could exhale, because he was too busy with other customers and would probably soon have forgotten about the two girls.

"Oh my stars, Brie, you were a-mazing! Thanks!"

''Yeah yeah, no worries but keep it down, will you?'' she uttered, slightly stressed that anyone would hear her friends shout out of gratefulness. Though, her stress was quickly replaced with a bright smile, showing that she actually enjoyed the little trick they pulled and ended up victorious from.

''You always end up making me do something I feel I'm going to regret...'' Brie added, before she joined Daiya in a curious sip of the mysterious drink. It was more than sparkling. The first taste carried a more of a real spark, micro electrical charges that danced over her tongue. Then the sweet, quite delicious taste that soon gave way to the taste of alcohol. The aftertaste was long and it started to burn, for Daiya so much that she suddenly stood up and rushed over to a woman and her big bowl of drink by the bar. Brie watched wide-eyed as her friend generously helped herself to the unknown womans drink. This was not good. Not good at all.

It burned in Brie's mouth too, but not to that extent. She downed the last of the energy drink that Daiya had left, clearly unsatisfied with its ability to extinguish the fire in her mouth.

''Wha-? Oh, my! Daiya! Was it really that bad?'' she asked bewildered by the shadowrunners reaction and shocked by the assault on the strangers drink.

The girls was not left for long, before a shadow emerged on their table and a female voice spoke up. Brie felt herself gulp hardly and on instinct sitting up more straight, almost freezing. Great. With the drinks all visible on the table and Daiya's taken liberty to the womans drink, the night did not look promising, to say the least.

''Uh... umm... W- we can buy you a new one...'' she said downhearted, but caught herself not wanting to risk another trip to the bar. ''Or pay you back for it...! Credit's not a problem...!''

Brie dared a glance up at the woman, a mirialan looking to have a few cybernetic enhancements. She didn't recognise her at all, maybe not even a shadowrunner.

''Sorry, lady... My friend is not used to strong drinks like that.'' she continued, eyes panning over to Daiya as she silently prayed for them that there would be no trouble.

Daiya Zole

 

[Doc Painless]

Doc Painless stood outside the jatz club for a long, long time.

He could hear the sounds of merriment from within, even over the swells of the music. It was a good day for Darkwire. Many people, many friends, were celebrating in there, and they had every reason to. The shadowrunners had hit back in a way that had mattered, a way that had shown the Corpos they couldn't operate with impunity. It'd been a strike for Belazura, for Altier, for all the people and planets the DireX Board had viewed as expendable resources they could push around on their balance sheets. It'd been exactly what the Doc had wanted to see happen, exactly what he'd called for during that CryptNet meeting. He'd near-literally asked for all of this.

So why did he linger there, on the threshold, unable to go in?

The street medic sighed and closed his eyes. He knew exactly what runners got up to, and had known from the beginning; you couldn't live outside the law, navigating and sometimes fighting back against an oppressive corporatist regime, without doing some ugly things. He'd never asked the runners who came to him for care what they'd done on their runs, because it hadn't mattered; they were people who needed treatment, and treatment was his role, his purpose in life. He accepted the moral compromises necessary in their work just as he didn't blame Seven Corners' poorest for muggings and burglaries. People did what they had to in order to survive dystopia.

But it'd felt different when he'd been involved. He, a man who'd taken an oath to do no harm - medical degree or not - had aided and abetted an assassination. The Doc hadn't even seen Xopsaloff get killed, but he couldn't shake the memory of watching those guards die. They'd gone down screaming, and he saw their faces, heard their voices, whenever he closed his eyes. And that woman Anakin Stormrunner had shot as she lay helpless on the ground, a mercy killing... why had he gone along with that? He'd persuaded himself there was no other option, that there was nothing he could've done for her without putting them all at risk, but the justification was wearing thin.

He wouldn't have accepted that excuse in his clinic. Why had he during the run?

The Doc had tried to look them up, each of the guards they'd killed, after it was all over. It'd been difficult going; he hadn't known any of their names, and Xopsaloff had employed thousands upon thousands of security officers across his various holdings, none of them with their specific assignments marked. But late into the night, then on into the small hours of the morning, the Doc had scrolled through the employee directory for Xopsaloff's division of CorpSec, a bottle - or three - his only companion. His cybernetic eyes never forgot a face, and eventually he'd matched a few of them. Some had been sleemos with long records of excessive force. Some hadn't been.

If he'd thought that putting names to the faces would bring him closure, he'd been wrong.

The Doc had briefly entertained wild fantasies of tracking down their families for some kind of reparations, making sure they were provided for, or something like that. But with CorpSec cracking down, that would only give them a lead to arrest him, and they'd make sure he didn't fare well at whatever black site they dragged him off to for "enhanced interrogation" about his Darkwire connections. He wasn't strong like his shadowrunner friends; he knew he would break, and people he cared about would be exposed to harm. So he bore his guilt in silence, with a bottle in his hand. He chuckled bitterly. Coming to Denon to start over and forget his old shame? It wasn't going so well.

Why did this feel different from the bounty he'd put on those organ-stealing swoop gangers a few months back? He'd literally had them killed. Many of them probably had families, too, people who had loved them once... or did still. He was far more culpable for their deaths than for anything that had happened on Xopsaloff's yacht. But they'd been the direct targets, the people he knew were hurting innocents across Seven Corners, who had to be stopped. And he hadn't had to watch them die, not up close. The Doc sighed, rubbing his eyes. Here he went again, getting lost in his head, full of self-loathing while the world went on around him. It wasn't helping anyone.

He was still banned from the Blue Flame, so he might as well get drunk in a jatz club.

He finally walked through the doors, trying to let the music drive out the thoughts jackhammering around his cybernetically-enhanced skull. It was a hell of a nice place, at least by his current standards; there was a time when he'd have looked down even on this, but he'd left that life behind. Shadowrunners milled around, sharing drinks and cheering anti-Corpo slogans. The Doc didn't recognize most of them, but he was used to that by now; people came and went. Taking anti-Corpo jobs on Denon wasn't exactly the secret to long life, so a lot of the time they went to the graveyard. He knew Daiya , and he'd seen her friend Brie Jaxx before, the night of the brawl at the Blue Flame.

He waved, but left them alone. They looked to be having a good time, and he didn't want to bring them down.

"A round for everyone, on me," he told the barkeep, forcing a smile. He could afford a generous gesture once in a while, even after the earthquake and subsequent riot had eaten up a good chunk of his clinic's supplies; he'd never forget what their little scam on Wann Tsir had been able to do for him. Now that had been a day when he'd felt like celebrating. "I'll take Tevraki whiskey. Line up three shots for me, please." He'd be staggering home when he was done, no doubt. It was what he did when his mind went places he didn't know how to claw it back from. One of these days he was going to drink himself to death, and no one in Seven Corners would be surprised.

Until then, he let the whiskey's sweet fire coat his tongue. A few more and he might feel up to a celebration.

 

[Daiya]

"That bad?" the girl pondered to herself, trying to think past the buzz. A moment ago, she had felt as if she was literally on fire. Now it just felt warm and a little tingly, like eating a spicy dish. "Okay, I guess getting shot is worse. Or drinking hyperfuel, whew, now that would be bad!"

Daiya gave her friend a knowing grin, trying to keep the other girl upbeat. The last thing she needed was to discourage Brie from trying more mischief, it was a good look on her. The girl found herself giggling suddenly, and continued on for a moment even as someone approached their table. The shadow looming over them didn't give away the Mirialan's green skin, but her peripheral vision gave Daiya the head's up.

She still did a double-take at seeing the annoyed woman at their table.

Before Daiya could open her mouth to reply to the scorned shadowrunner, Brie volunteered her credits instead. The teen's mouth dropped fully open, staring at her friend with an incredulous look. "Umm, yeah, credit's not a problem I guess." Daiya mumbled, trying not to add a pointed, For you, directed at Brie. She tried to hide the sigh while pulling out her datapad, not wanting to reveal the credit chit's existence to the woman. "Just put in your account deets."

The teen reluctantly handed the datapad to the Mirialan, open to the credit transfer app that was commonly used for Darkwire transactions. It was safe, secure and anonymous, all the things that Daiya had wanted for her credits before Brie opened her mouth. And then her friend, as much as Daiya loved her, went and did it again.

"Brieeeeeeee!" Daiya whined. Her usual upbeat self was struggling to gain back control, losing the fight against the overwhelming crush of emotions flooding in on the girl. "Oh my stars Brie, I can handle myself! Come on, you've seen me in action, I'm a good shot, I can give as good as I get. And I'm pretty sharp, aren't I, I introduced you to Ahxel right? And look, I even bought your drink tonight. I get it, everyone wants to protect me, but I don't need you to, okay? I'm fine, I can handle it."

She was unloading right now. It probably wasn't fair to Brie, but the young shadowrunner couldn't stop herself. The words tumbled out of her mouth as quickly as they lined up behind it. "It's why I went to help take out that DireX. I know what everyone thinks, I'm too small and I'm too young so I can't get stuff done." Her eyes were damp, and Daiya wiped them dry. Those weren't helping her case right now. "I don't even like space travel, but I went out there anyway! I mean, who cares if the Corpos are still in charge, and nothing has really changed? I don't really know why we went there, we didn't save anyone really! It's not like Manfloon is going to stop mining, or Sun is going to stop using Zenie, or Starlight is going to stop sending CorpSec after us. Or Blacklight's gonna stop doing...whatever the feth he does!"

Daiya slumped down, her chin on her hands. "But it's fine, okay? Chit's gonna come, and I can handle it." She waved a hand dismissively, putting it back against her cheek a little harder than she should have. It made a sound. "No one has to protect me, even from myself. I love you, Brie, you're my best friend and you're a-mazing, but I got this, I'll be fine."

She motioned the woman for her datapad back, and finished out the transaction. Daiya wasn't sure just how much she had agreed to transfer, but it didn't matter. She'd figure chit out, even if she had to agree to a few jobs she didn't want to again. Whatever, it was fine. She would be fine.

Eventually.

Brie Jaxx Zole Doc Painless​

 

[Zole]

Zole sighed, standing over the table and getting the full length of the conversation. As she prepared to draw just fifteen credits for another fishbowl her frown deepened. Not for the act of using the application, but for having to listen in on the pair talk.

She was very tempted to inform the bartender they were underage just to have less chirrupy young voices going. She cancelled the transaction, anger having faded and feeling a pang of guilt for taking credits from the girl who hadn't swiped her drink.

"There, thank you," she said, handing the datapad to Brie.

"And for the record," she continued, addressing Daiya with hands on hips and eyes narrowed. "When someone uses that much oxygen to explain why they're fine, they're usually not.

"Aanyway..." She trailed off, Zole switching to mimic their cadence and pitch. "Have a lovely evening!"

 

[Brie Jaxx]

"Umm, yeah, credit's not a problem I guess.''

Brie met her friends incredulous look with one of guilt, that her offer to the woman might have been rather rash. She could not help but to feel a little dumb, being hit by her best friends look. Her glance panned between the mirialan woman and Daiya, then holding her breath while the woman was about to use the datapad offered to her.

"Brieeeeeeee!"

All of a sudden, Daiya caught Brie in the most total of surprises as she whined out loudly and started to explain herself in just a few big breaths of oxygen. Large eyes turned from the mirialan and landed on the fellow shadowrunner in front of her, one she thought she knew pretty well. A sad frowning face grew upon Brie, her friends words hit her right where it hurt in the chest.

''I...'' Brie begun and leant back in shock. ''don't think that at all, Daiya...'' she said and shaked her head a little to the accusation, which she thought, was a completely wrong and misdirected. Daiya was only a year or two younger than Brie and she had never had those thoughts about her close friend. Kriff, Daiya was the one to push Brie on Cato Neimoidia and the one that saved her life on that derelict space freighter. If one thing, the roles were the opposite.

Maybe it was the strong drinks that had gone to the younger shadowrunners head, it must have been something. Anyway, Brie was left baffled by the statement, and was soon cut off as the woman slided the datapad over to her and a remark about Daiya's sudden incursion.

''Hey... Hey, wait!'' Brie called after the woman that was about to leave. ''Would... would there be any chance that you could get us two ciders from the bar...? I think I made a mistake ordering these...'' Brie said and slided her Port in a Storm forth on the table, before she brought up some credits from her jacket that would cover them for two ciders. ''I didn't really know what it was... I think we could use something... more mild. You can have mine if you want! I've just taken a sip out of it.'' she offered, trying to sound a bit more enthusiastic.

Daiya Zole

 

[Daiya]

She had felt so much energy at the start of the night, boosted immensely by the alternative beverage she ordered at the bar. It seemed to leave the girl as soon as she was done with her rant. She didn't feel relieved to have all of that off her chest, mostly just tired. Her eyes sought out Brie's above all, ignoring anything else as she waited to see how her friend would react.

Daiya was crestfallen to watch her friend's expression fill with shock. Her words were full of disappointment, and it crushed the younger teen's heart.

"Brie, I..." Daiya started, her eyes beginning to water again. If anything, she had only wanted to set things square. After her part in Darkwire's big triumph, the young shadowrunner thought that others would start to see her differently. Confident. Capable. Of all people, she thought Brie would have let Daiya handle her own problems.

Her breath came short in her throat, leaving the teen softly gasping in short, shallow breaths. It felt like a hand had closed about her lungs, crushing them, and her heart along with. Daiya's mind raced to catch up, to make sense of what she had just done, staring silently as the exchange happened between her friend and the Mirialan woman. The teen had lost too many friends already, she couldn't bear to lose another tonight.

"I—I don't know what I was thinking. I guess things just get to me. All the chit going on, and all the weird feelings I get from beings around me. Sometimes I feel like everyone's always looking at me, waiting for me to do something strange or wrong. And then I screw up, and prove them right." Glistening eyes looked up to Brie, to see if any of it had made an impact on her older friend. Daiya studied Brie's face, and in it she found the girl she called her best friend looking back at her. It made her ashamed that she hadn't acted like one tonight, and she turned away. Daiya couldn't help but draw in a heavy breath, her voice throaty as she spoke in soft words. "And there you were, just trying to support me. Like you always have. Brie, I don't deserve a good friend like you!"

Her finger traced circles on the booth in front of her, while soft whimpers escaped the teen's lips. Daiya didn't want to feel this way anymore, all her problems were too much, and she was starting to offend her friends. A tear carved its way down her cheek, and she didn't even wipe it away this time.

She just needed another drink.

Brie Jaxx Zole Doc Painless​

 

[Zole]

Daiya Brie Jaxx

Zole gave a sigh and picked up the glass. This was a nightmare. Teenagers discussing their personal issues. The mirialan cyborg picked up the glass and necked it. She didn't even twitch as the lightning found its way to her belly.

"Ciders...right..." Zole shook her head as she walked away from the pair.

She was not gone for long. She returned with a tray and used a hip to make room for herself at the table. There were six glasses on the table. 3 ciders and 3 shots. She very deliberately set them all down on the table.

"Right it's time to deal with your problems like grown ups. Stop talking about feelings, drink and complain about what everyone else has done to wrong you."

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie knew that she risked the whole night, and maybe more to that, by asking the stranger for that favour. The woman obviously knew that they were under age, but at the same time Daiya's outbreak of emotions called for something and that was quickly if they were to save and enjoy their evening. To Brie's surprise, the mirialan accepted the risky request and headed off to the bar. The womans tone and body language made Brie uncertain wether she just lied and actually went to get the bartender or the bouncers. It had to wait though, as Brie met Daiya's sad face and glistening eyes.

''Hey hey...!'' Brie uttered and moved over to her friends side or the booth, scooting over and laid an arm around her.

''It's not like that!'' she said, making her point right from the start. ''I didn't mean it like that... I know you can handle yourself. Remember Cato Neimoidia? When you pushed and helped me carry on with the mission? I was new and if not for you I don't know how things would have gone.'' Brie continued and searched for her friends teary gaze.

''Heh, you probably saw me as a real rookie!'' she added with an encouraging smile.

''Or that time when you saved my life aboard that derelict space cruiser? Not anyone could have done that, you know. It takes courage to do those things, and pretty much of it. You're my best friend Daiya and I'm very happy for it. You deserve all the respect from the others and I know that everyone likes you.''

The mirialan woman returned and Brie drew an inside sigh of relief that she had not in fact lied. Ciders, and shots. The woman was not trying to drink them under the table, was she?

''Thanks, but I think we'll need to go easy, though.'' she said and exchanged a wavering smile to the woman.

''I'm... I'm Brie.'' she introduced herself, despite Daiya had made her name pretty clear already. She made the deliberate choice not to introduce Daiya, considering her explanation and wish to handle herself and hoped that she would follow up with introducing herself.

Daiya Zole

 

[Shai Maji]

Walking towards the entrance of the club, Shai wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She had dealt with clients on Denon before. There were gangs and private militaries all over the planet that needed guns and she was happy to provide. But never did she hang around or get to know the planet thoroughly. This was her start to learn how the planet rolled.

Her armour was left behind on her ship, but her particle pistol and satchel full of goodies were on her as always. Adjusting her tank top and cargo pants, she entered the club and glanced around. The patrons seemed to be in a very good mood. They were celebrating something big that she wasn't aware of. A small smirk appeared as she made her way to the bar and ordered a pint. She preferred a happy and celebratory vibe over an annoyed and tightly wound one. After taking a healthy swig of her pint, she turned and leaned against the counter as she studied the patrons.

Her ears twitched as she listened in on a conversation between a few teenage girls that were clearly way too young to be in a place like this. But she wasn't one to judge. She was busy with much more illegal things than this at their age. She caught their names pretty easily, though she wasn't sure how relevant they would be. If she couldn't find someone else to help her out, she could go bother the emotional bunch of girls.

With a shake of her head she ran a hand through her mane and sipped at her beer. She wondered if anyone would be dishing up merc work anytime soon...

Daiya Zole Brie Jaxx Doc Painless Twitch'

 

[Daiya]

She drew in a ragged breath as Brie's arm snaked around her neck. The warmth of her friend's words, and the closeness of her body, was a salve for some raw, wounded part of Daiya's soul. The teen closed her eyes as she listened to the wise words from her older friend, reminders of days not long past, when it had been her job to support the both of them. And now here she was, even after all of that, barely holding herself together for her best friend.

It finally hit when Brie told the younger girl that she was deserving and worthy of being a best friend. Brie's best friend.

Daiya leaned her head against Brie's shoulder, slumping against her best friend as tears ran freely from her eyes. The raw part of her let go, releasing a fury of whimpering sobs. The teen couldn't understand it, though, she felt better. She didn't want to cry now, Daiya wanted to laugh and grin and tell Brie how a-mazing she was. All that the girl could muster was a blubbering word that even she couldn't decipher.

She sat up when Zole arrived, wiping her eyes. Trying not to look like a complete mess in front of a stranger. A knot in her throat kept Daiya from swallowing for a moment, but once she worked past it, the girl felt lighter somehow. As if her wound had been drained of all the bad blood. Turning back toward Brie, she whispered, "I can't believe I did that to you, Brie. I'm sorry." The teen grimaced an attempt at a smile, but she mustered up the strength to raise her voice at least. "I'm all messed up right now. But!"

Daiya turned to look at the Mirialan woman, "The Green Fairy is right!" Fairy? "Time to toss these stupid feelings away and drink."

Her hand reached for one of the cider glasses and landed on the shots, clasping around it anyway and bringing it up to her face. Daiya raised the shot glass in a toast, looking at each in turn as she honored them, "To my best friend, Brie, to everyone who likes me, and to you—" The teen blinked, trying to see past the blurriness that had settled in front of the woman. Her eyes were dry, but her vision still wasn't clear. No matter. "—whoever the feth you are..."

Brie Jaxx Zole Doc Painless Shai Maji​