Bloodshot Eyes

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Coruscant was a lot of things. Home was not one of them. The flight down here had been nerve wracking -- getting anywhere that the Sith occupied usually was. The reason Tykan had come? To make a sale. A vast majority of Coruscant's population were brainwashed in one way or the other. Some eagerly believed in the Sith propaganda, and some were too afraid to not believe it. Still, a small fraction of folk didn't care either way. These were the folk of the undercity; parts of Coruscant that even the Sith did not try to tame.

If the Republic fell, then they would no doubt work on cleansing the lower levels of the city planet. As it was, the lower levels of Coruscant were safer than any other place near the galactic core. It was the perfect place to do a bit of business. There was a problem, however, and it manifested in the rather large Weequay standing in front of the cantina door.

"You got business pup?" The alien garbled in heavily accented basic. Tykan chewed on his lower lip. This cantina was one of hundreds on the main strip. Level 1214 was known for its red light district, after all. Out of all those decrepit places, Tykan had chosen this one. He wasn't going to be denied.

"That I do. See the Strill?" He pointed down at Riny, "She's picked up a scent. You've got someone with a price on their head in there." A lie, but the Weequay here weren't known for their intelligence.

"Oh yeah? What kinda bounty?"

"Sith bounty."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Let me in, and a finder's fee will find its way to you. What's your name?" Tykan cracked an amused smile. The Weequay's demeanor had rapidly shifted. The promise of credits, in times like these, was too much to resist for some.

"Raylaq Bin-hazin. You let 'em know." The alien blustered. Tykan nodded, Riny mewled, and the Weequay opened the door. The duo stepped inside.

The interior was akin to many of the other cantinas. Dancers and a band provided atmosphere in the far right corner. To the left, beings of a various races drained their credits on slot machines. Ahead lay the tables and the bar itself. This place would do.

"C'mon girl. Need to speak with the bartender."

[member="Helio Maleen"]

 

[Helio Maleen]

Helio laughed along with the small group of males and females of various species that had adopted her into their group the moment she had walked through the door of the cantina more than a week ago now. Her man-of-the-month had been slowly losing his appeal, his own personal flaws outweighing the value of his purse, until his decision to come for some "fun" in the undercity of Coruscant neatly severed Helio's last thread of patience. Unfortunately, there had been no time to effect that decision before they started their journey, which had meant being stuck on Coruscant with-- and, most recently, without-- him.

A sip of her shockingly blue drink washed her tastebuds with a nerve-tingling wave of sweetness, and she idly turned the glass against the countertop as she directed her attention to the room at large, listening to the conversation near her with one ear. There were some new faces among the crowd, but none caught Helio's interest and none of them had demonstrated the level of spending necessary for her to elevate average looking to extremely attractive.

Her gaze traveled to the door with the arrival of a new patron; although her body language didn't change immediately, the dark woman's attention was riveted as he crossed the room, a rare Strill at his heel. Slowly, Helio's seat swiveled enough that she could watch his progress without obviously turning herself around. Helio leaned her head on one delicately boned hand and watched him find a place at the bar, aware that his attention was elsewhere-- for now.

Mmm-mmm. Hello, new target.

"Maybe someone is missing a warm bed at night?" Rab Coha, the lone Nautolan of their party, commented from behind her. Helio felt their attention move to her, but they were a relatively superficial group; she had read the best ways to navigate their social waters in the first hour of conversation.

One indelicate comment about Rab's mother, delivered without turning her head so much as a centimeter, prompted another round of laughter from her cohorts.

[member="Tykan Starchaser"]

 

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"Yer looking fer what?" The Aqualish grumbled. He was a tired looking creature; easily in his mid-fifties, and quite likely stuck with this job for the rest of his existence. It seemed he knew that, too. "Don't think we got anybody like that son." He continued, eyeing Tykan as he cleaned a glass. "Ya'd prolly get better luck down on the lower levels."

Tykan shook his head. "The ship went down two days ago. The Sith didn't pay it much mind -- didn't have much importance to them. I know it ended up on this level. I just need to know who might have salvaged it."

The Aqualish narrowed his eyes. "Now I'm tellin' ye this for yer own good boy. That ship's nothing but trouble. Echota's got his people out tearing it up. Whatever yer lookin' fer there's prolly gone."

That wasn't very good. Tykan had heard of Echota, a local Ithorian with a very bad temper. The authorities didn't pay him much mind; anything below the first hundred levels tended to be lawless. It wasn't always that way: the Republic had kept the peace down here. Unfortunately the war proven that Coruscant's heart was irrelevant to the galactic plan. Echota was a personification of that slow degredation.

"Where can I find Echota?"

"Don't."

"I need to."

Riny lifted her snout up in the air. She gave a loud sniff, and turned her big dark eyes toward [member="Helio Maleen"]. Her nostrils flared, and her six legs shifted uncomfortably across the floor. The Strill was a smart creature with an uncanny ability to pick up on the emotions of sentient beings. It was not the force, or any such mystical nonsense. She could smell the chemical shifts in one's body, if they were strong enough. She only ceased her glare when Tykan reached down to scratch her behind the ears.

"...Bridge Street. Ain't safe though."

"I'll take my chances. Thanks bud." Tykan slipped a credit ship across the counter. Without looking to see if the Aqualish took it or not, he span on his heel, taking a moment to breathe in the atmosphere before continuing on his personal quest.

 

[Helio Maleen]

[member="Tykan Starchaser"]

Helio paid the Strill little mind-- stupid on her part, sure, but she was trying to work out how best to approach this man on a mission. Very attractive, that single-minded pursuit, but also very difficult to penetrate.

"I might be back," she said and slid from her seat as the stranger tossed a credit on the bar and turned. With practiced movements, she eased around the other seated patrons to come up alongside him-- on the side opposite the Strill.

“Not to seem too interested, but you look like you have your mind on something in particular,” she offered, smiling when she had his attention. She settled her weight onto one leg and rested a hand on her hip, noticeably sweeping a judging look over him. When she was done, Helio gestured at the bar, attitude and language frank. "Asking questions, turning around and leaving without even one drink. It comes across as very suspicious around here. Frankly, I'm surprised you got past Ray with that attitude. He usually takes exception to it." He had the one time she'd seen someone try to ignore his refusal to let them enter anyway.

 

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Pretty women always brought trouble. You'd never find one in this sort of place that wasn't under the employ of someone with dark intentions. They could use their bodies as tools, and the folks that hired them knew that. Tykan had played that game before, and lost terribly. He almost ignored her. Almost.

"Just looking for a girl to take home," he stated bluntly, "Haven't been on a world with humanoids that weren't covered in fur. It's been awhile." He shrugged, offering an amused smile. Riny sidled up to him; staring curiously at the woman. They needed to find Echota sooner rather than later. Granted, the pseud-crime lord likely wasn't going anywhere.

Still, Tykan had no desire to share what he might find aboard that crashed ship.

"Asked your Aqualish friend if I'd get any luck here. He said no, so I'm heading out --" a pause, "Ray likes me. I'm a charmer." A hint of mirth found its way into his voice. He'd come to love pulling the wool over people's eyes, and that Nikto was a prime example of such. Maybe he could trick the guy into being his personal bodyguard for awhile? Maybe...

"As for the drinks, I kind of like being sober in this sorta place." He motioned toward the bar, "Though I'll buy if you're thirsty, sweetheart." There it was again. That amused little twist to his words. He enjoyed the act. Odds were whatever intentions this woman had upon approaching him were dashed. It was easy to avoid the prying types if you came across as a spacer looking to sin with a stranger.

[member="Helio Maleen"]

 

[Helio Maleen]

[member="Tykan Starchaser"]

Helio's amused grin masked her calculations. Suspicious and disinterested, but willing to play along for now. It left the possibility of her working him around to her tune. Hello usually tried to look for easier marks, but she hadn't challenged herself in a while. Maybe it would be fun and, if she failed, her group would probably pick up a second drink for her if nothing else. At least he hadn't mistaken her for one of the prostitutes that worked the district. She always hated the rare times when that happened; what about a girl who liked to have a good time automatically made her a working girl?

"The type of girls you might take home from this area have things you probably don't want to deal with," Helio stated, just as bluntly as he had made his supposed business with her. "If you really don't have pressing business elsewhere, and no missus waiting at home--" She paused to glance down at the Strill and smiled faintly. "Other than this Missus, of course, I won't say no to a drink and some conversation."

Helio moved closer only to pass him with the barest tap on his arm as his redirection to the bar. "It's lonely to be the only one drinking, you know." She took up a seat on a barstool and turned back to face him, nonchalantly bracing her arms on the countertop behind her to the most aesthetically pleasing effect as her amused, suggestive gaze challenged him. "You don't look like the type that lets one drink affect him."

 

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He couldn't help but crack a smirk. Riny was the only missus he ever intended to have. Gods forbid he ever find himself in a position where he'd need to be married. The very thought of such a thing sent a chill down the hunter's spine. "You figure? I'd think they'd be alright. Do their job anyway." He shrugged, following her along to the bar. Riny made a snorting noise he'd come to understand as disapproval. Strill weren't sentient, per se, but they could form opinions and understand casual conversation to a degree. Riny was particularly judgmental.

He couldn't just go now. There was a very likely chance this woman was working for the man that intended to hamper his progress. If he left, and she called it in, he'd be walking right into a trap. That was something he and Riny could not afford right now. They needed that shuttle, and all the goodies hidden inside. "I don't consider myself a lightweight, no, though neither did the last Mandalore." He murmured, taking a seat on the barstool alongside her, "They say he has twenty bastards now. Poor lad."

He offered a thin smile, and with it a gloved hand. "Tykan Starchaser. Procurer of all the things people love in the galaxy. The Strill is Riny -- the closest thing to a missus I'll ever have." The Strill whined. "She knows it's love."

[member="Helio Maleen"]

 

[Helio Maleen]

[member="Tykan Starchaser"]

Helio offered a warmer smile in return and took the proffered handshake.

"Helio," she replied, her voice smooth, easing around the syllables like molasses. "That's a pretty big claim. 'All the things people love'?"

He was weird.

Okay. She had dated weird guys before but he was going to prove to be particularly weird. That said, if he was just stopping over, had his own ship, and no long-term live-in to make trouble, he might be her ticket out of this dump.

The sooner the better. Rab, Kady and the others were great, but she had no interest in sticking around until the Sith got around to clearing out the undercity in the most prejudiced way. Even if that was a while off yet, Corellia wasn't a planet Helio was fond of. Seedy didn't go quite far enough to describe it, and she'd been to some particularly seedy places over the years.