Birds of a Feather Fly Together

[Dinar Sullux]

Dinar eased on the throttle as he lowered the Maiden into the hangar. A guttural grinding sound can be heard from somewhere in the ship. Dinar tightens his grip on the throttle as his muscles tense. “Easy girl. I’ll make sure to give you a tune up as soon as I got credits to spare but until then I need you to hold on.” As the legs touch down, Dinar let’s out a sigh of relief before turning off the ships systems. Placing his head in his hands. “Shoulda stayed a junker. There was good money in that. Safer too.” He stood up and left the cockpit grabbing his jacket and holsters from the beat up old locker in the hull. “Time to find some work.”
Stepping off the ship, Dinar took a deep breath of the air. Nar Shaddaa has become a second home to him. After the Maiden of course. It reminded him of Rishi, but with less painful memories. It was just the right kind of dingy and shady. Dinar took out his watercask and took a few gulps before hanging it from his side again. He leaned against the Maiden and casually asked passersby if they needed a pilot. “Sure she may not be pretty but she gets you where you’re going. And gets you there fast if you need to!” Close to an hour passed with no takers.
Dinar sat thinking about what to do if he couldn’t find a job. Selling the Maiden was out of the question. He’d starve first. “I guess I could head back to Rishi. Salvage ships. I’d at least be able to get some decent parts for the Lady then.” Dinar shook the idea from his head. “What am I talking about? I’m a pilot. I can’t be grounded. I was born to fly.” Dinar went back to hawking his wares. “I’ll take anyone or anything, anywhere! Prices are up for negotiation! No interference from pirates or the first order guarenteed! Best pilot in all the outer rim at very reasonable prices! No offer is too big or too small for the Maiden!”
Dinar pitched his services to every civilian, merc, and droid that passed by until his water cask ran dry. “Well this day just keeps getting better.” He muttered to himself wondering how long he’d keep it up before calling it a day. Dinar took a look at his sidearms. “Maybe I could sell one of these. Wouldn’t fetch much but it’d be enough for food and maybe some fuel.” Dinar sighed and slid down the Maiden until he was sitting on the grease and dirt covered ground. He leaned his head back against the vessel and closed his eyes. “Should of sold those charges instead of just giving them away. I spent so many credits on those. Idiot.” Dinar continued his pitch half-heartedly as exhaustion over took him. Sleep had been a stranger to him for a while and it was starting to show. “One of you has to need something moved. Or somewhere to go.” And finally the last of Dinars will ran out as he stood up, kicked the ground, and went to look for a drink.

 

[Rash]

Ah, Nar Shaddaa. Rash just had to love the dimly lit, dirty and noisy alleyways of the "Smuggler's moon". After all, it had been his home- no, his base of operations and the headquarters of his gang for many years. Rash just felt like he belonged there, all the neon lights, the hookers motioning for him [and to everyone else passing by] to come closer and the drug addicts always up for a fight, they all just made him feel like he was home. Home. The word kept bouncing around in the old smuggler's head as he passed a shady hangar. Rash just had to stop and look at all the newcomers to the planet of outlaws. Young smugglers, bloodthirsty pirates, and just misfits in general. They all looked so... naive to him, paying the so-called 'docking fee' and looking for a chance to start their life here. It was quite sad really, and they really reminded Rash of himself when he was younger. He could see himself jumping off one of the ships and looking at an old man. His eyes widened and he was clearly frightened, trying to reach for his knife before disappearing in thin air. Who was the old man? It was Rash. It was who he had become.

The man found himself shivering as he shook his head, trying to clear his mind before he started moving again, faster. He knew where he was going almost too well. The route was the same he had taken at least hundreds of times already. Ah, and through the narrow alleyway. I almost forgot that. Heh. The old man looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was following him as he made his way through the dark alleyway like a shadow. Like the shadow of his younger self. Ugh, stop thinking about the past would ya'? Rash knew he was absolutely in the need for a drink... for something to refresh his mind with.

It didn't take too long until the bar full of outlaws was in front of him. It looked as bad as it always did, Twi'lek hookers and drunk, possibly overdosed people lying around its opened doors, off tune music coming from the inside and a rather uninviting neon sign in Aurabesh shining on top of it. That was actually why Rash loved the place. The atmosphere it had was so... shady, dangerous in every way and just perfect for an old man like him. He took a deep breath and stepped into the dimly lit bar, making sure he had his weapons on him and gently denying the hooker's offers. The old dog tried his best to avoid even slight eye contact with anyone passing him.

[member="Dinar Sullux"]

 

[Dinar Sullux]

Dinar stumbled into the nearest bar he could find, exhausted both physically and mentally. He began pushing passed the various vagabonds and prostitutes with hardly a care. Normally he’d be more cautious around crowds like this to not get in a fight, but his patience had left him long ago. If some bar fly wanted to start a fight, that was fine by him. Making his way to the center of the room he finally found a what appeared to be the bar. It can be hard sometimes to tell what passes for a bar on Nar Shaddaa. Sitting down he waved the bartender over. “I’ll take two of whatever’s cheap.” As the bartender set down two cups of- “something” Dinar down the first cup almost immediately but after it started to settle in, he decided he should probably take the second one a little slower. He nursed his cup as he lamented over his recent struggles. He spoke aloud, not really to anyone but not trying to be quiet either. “Rough week. Ship nearly got shot out of the bloody sky, got stiffed on my last payments, maiden is ready to break down. And to top it all off I got no work and nothing better to do than get drunk in a bar with all the other sad pieces of garbage from around the galaxy. Fantastic!” Dinar felt a couple dirty looks at the last comment but after a minute without being hit he figured he was probably fine. As he finished the second cup he passed the bartender some credits and asked him to bring him the bottle.
Before the bottle even got to him Dinar was drunk. He had always been a lightweight. It was because he only ever drank when times were really good or when times were really bad. And it had been a while since times were this bad. He for looked around at the strangers at the bar and started to realize that maybe it wasn’t the best place for a drunk loudmouth to be by himself. He eagerly waited for the bartender to bring the bottle. As soon as it hit the counter, Dinar picked it up and began walking to his ship to “enjoy” it there. The bartender didn’t seem to happy about his lack of a tip, but Dinar flashed his gun through his coat and the bartender went back to what he was doing. He knew it was dangerous not to tip folk this far out in the Galaxy but the truth is he just didn’t have the money. As he began to walk towards the exit, which he struggled to find, he bumped into some stranger. An older human by the looks of him. Dinar instinctively reached for his gun and raised his bottle, careful not to let the stranger get the drop on him but careful not to start a gunfight if he didn’t need to. “Watch yourself old man. Today’s not the day to start trouble with me.” Dinar said brandishing his blaster and bottle.

Rash

 

[Rash]

A quiet sigh left Rash's mouth as he felt the shoulder of the person in front of him bump against him. It wasn't meant to be an attack for sure, or at least Rash hoped so for the wellbeing of the person since he had instinctively reached for his knife as soon as the contact happened. He was always prepared for a fight if it came to that. Holding the grip of his weapon, Rash briefly glanced at the man in front of him. He was almost as tall as him for sure, clearly a young Nautolan and judging by his clothing quite possibly a mechanic, perhaps a smuggler? He was a young outlaw for sure. Heh, a youngster, eh? Oh well, young or not, Rash would still be just glad to teach the man some manners, after all, the old man never even heard the Nautolan apologize. Hm. How rude. The man was drunk as hell for sure and Rash was quick to notice the blaster the green-skinned creature held in his hand, clearly trying to intimidate Rash by shaking it around in front of him. Well now, a drunk and aggressive Nautolan holding a blaster... not a good combo for sure.

Rash decided to go the gentle way this time. He really didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself and getting into a firefight with a knife didn't sound like a brilliant idea to him at all for sure. The old dog looked over his shoulder and gave way for the people coming in to pass him before carefully looking at the man again. An old man, eh? For some reason the word made Rash frown lightly before squinting his dark brown eyes, slowly siding his hand off the knife on the belt under his coat and leaning a bit forward, talking to the Nautolan quickly and quietly with a relatively raspy voice, trying to make sure he wasn't in the mood to fight anyways.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on doing that, but someone seriously needs to teach you some manners kid"

Old man. Ugh, the odd thing Rash saw in the dark hangar came back into his mind again. His younger gullible self and the way he saw himself run away... he could see himself being the person he bumped into as well. No... no. He was undoubtedly in the need for a drink... a strong one and really wanted to just leave the poor drunk Nautolan boy standing there and walk into the dimly lit bar, but he didn't. He just shook his head before looking at the man again Something made Rash stay there and wait for his response.

[member="Dinar Sullux"]

 

[Dinar Sullux]

Dinar scoffed at the scruffy smuggler before him. "I apologize, your majesty. I didn't realize I was in the presence of nobility." Dinar taunted the stranger sarcastically. "I have plenty of manners, thank you very much, just not the time or patience to use them right now." Dinar began to calm down, the adrenaline sobering him slightly. "Look, this life has been a little rough lately, so I'm a little on edge. You seem like a nice guy, why don't I buy you a drink? Or share the one I've got." Dinar held up the still full bottle. "I don't have much money but I suppose not having to drink alone is worth the credits." Dinar held out the bottle as a peace offering. He figured if the guy was going to kill him he'd have tried already, but it's never a good idea to leave Nar Shaddaa with enemies so it was probably safer to try and make amends. He shook the bottle slightly, the booze sloshing around inside. "It's cheap but it'll get the job done."

As Dinar studied the stranger, he couldn't help but think of his brother. He didn't know why. His brother was much younger and looked nothing like the stranger. Maybe it was the eyes. There was a certain wisdom behind them under a layer of tiredness that no amount of sleep could erase. Who was he to judge this stranger? His brother was a scoundrel too, he tried to hide it from Dinar, but some glimpses of it shone through. Maybe somewhere else this stranger had someone he was looking after. Or maybe he was like Dinar and had no one to look after but himself. Alone, just waiting for the days to pass and hoping you're alive to see the next one. Of course, Dinar wanted a different life, but this was all he knew. Dinar shook his head and snapped back to reality as he remembered where he was thinking to himself, "This is not the place to be dozing off." He looked back to the stranger, the bottle still outstretched as he waited for the man's reply.

[member="Rash"]

 

[Rash]

A tough guy. That's what all the younger outlaw seemed to be... or at least what they desperately tried so hard to make themselves look like. The sarcastic and clearly Drunk Nautolan in front of him wasn't an exception for sure, acting as if Rash was royalty as soon as he heard what the old man said to him. Rash looked at the man, with squinted eyes and a slight frown on his mildly craggy face. If he wasn't in the state of mind he was in right now, Rash most likely would've introduced the man to his fists right then and there, but he decided not to. The green-skinned boy was young after all and most likely acted the way he did just because he was stoned as hell, so Rash gave him a chance to fix his attitude. To his surprise the boy did, suddenly explaining why he was behaving the way he did to Rash, offering to share the drink he had on him with the old man as well. Rash looked at the Nautolan in a judging manner. He had no reason to trust the boy. The drink could've been poisoned or... or this could've been a terrible trap of some sort, luring him to be mugged or worse. This was Nar Shaddaa after all and there were millions of reasons for him not to trust anyone, really, but he was in a desperate need for a drink as well. He quickly looked at the bottle the Nautolan held out before looking up at his face. It was a tough decision for Rash, but the thought of clearing his mind and not losing any of his precious credits (although the drink was most likely cheap as hell) on the process just sounded too good to be true.

"Settling this with a drink sounds absolutely fine to me, kid"

Rash ignored the shadow of his younger self he saw behind the man in front of him. He tried his best to concentrate on the moment at hand instead of the past. Ignore it, Ignore it... Come on, it's not this hard to forget, is it? Luckily, the shadow slowly faded away, merely making it easier for Rash to listen to the Nautolan's reply as he looked at the boy, the angered expression on his old face slowly starting to become more neutral, still lacking the warm smile he usually had on his face in situations like these.

[member="Dinar Sullux"]