Private Burc'ya vaal burk'yc, burc'ya veman.

[Tessa Monroe]

Tessa laughed and shook her head, lifting the caff cup. "Smooth deflection." She offered with a grin as she set the cup back down after taking a gulp. The chit eating grin didn't quite reach Adelle's eyes, the tightness she'd tried to roll out of her shoulders was still there but muted. It reminded her of the way her mother shut down when things were too close for comfort.

She didn't press. It was Adelle's business and they didn't know each other well enough to be trauma bonding just yet.

Although a few too many drinks at a bar might just change that.

"We're bound for Rishi, which is not my neck of the woods but its a fast hop from their back home. We can find a good bar on Mandalore." she could think of a couple in Keldabe, off the beaten track, not so many bucketheads to gate crash their evening.

"Or you can introduce me to your diplomat friends int eh Republic, Ambassador." she teased.

"I'll promise I'll behave." The mock innocence on her face, said otherwise.

Adelle Bastiel

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Tessa Monroe

The smirk came more easily this time. “I am nothing if not smooth.”

Rishi. That was in Mando space and right next to a hypergate. Tessa knew some bars in Keldabe, ones that weren’t smuggler bars filled with the kind of crowd she didn’t want to subject her to apparently. That had appeal. Some place known and generally safe.

On the other hand, there was always something fun about trying a new bar.

“Only place I know of near there is Bothawui,” Adelle said. “So our choices boil down to Mandos or professional spies. You’re the pilot. Dealer’s choice.”

She took another long drink of caf. Bars were safer, steadier ground. She could talk about this easily. Better this than anymore about Krayt. She’d already given that name more than enough lip-service.

“You? Behave?” she asked with mock surprise. Adelle’s eyes gleamed with trouble as she looked over the rim of her mug. “That’s no fun.”

 

[Tessa Monroe]

"Mandalorians or professional spies..." Tess repeated the choices slowly, her head tilting contemplating it carefully. It should have been an easy choice, go with what you know, with what was safe. But truth be told, the Mandalorian still didn't feel safe.

Another wicked grin flash across her face, the mischief in Adelle's eyes doing nothing but encouraging her. She hedge her bets that wherever they wound up, the only thing on the cards for them was going to be trouble. Tessa was here for it. How much trouble probably depended on the location and just how much they were going to drink.

"Feth it," she said after a moment. "Lets see what kind of fun the bothans can cook up for us."

She took large sip of her caff, letting the bitterness sit on her tongue for a beat before swallowing.

"I hope you know someone who can bail us out if we need it."

Adelle Bastiel

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Tessa Monroe

“Are you planning on literally bringing the house down?” Adelle teased. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve leveled a building.”

She took a drink from the caf, noting with a touch of sadness the cup was almost finished, while her hand continued to pet Phantom. Having someone to bail them out wouldn’t be a bad idea—just in case. Aurelian came to mind first but if she were honest, the King was more likely to join them in whatever trouble they got involved in. Sibylla would probably be the best person to call if Tess and her got in trouble with local authorities. Adelle hated the idea of calling on her—Sibylla was so much younger than her and Tess, it both wasn’t a good look and was a huge burden to put on her.

But if push came to shove, Adelle wasn’t above making sure things were resolved quietly.

“I might know someone,” she said. “She’d probably come with a lecture but hopefully, we won’t need her.”

 

[Tessa Monroe]

"I never plan anything, things just happen around me." She replied almost indignantly, like Adelle had accused her of something. "Besides," she added a sly grin creeping across her face again. "Judging by the attention you attract, the two of us combined are bound to run into trouble."

Tessa drained the rest of her cup, inspecting the bottom of it with a small pout, debating for a moment on making another pot when Adelle mentioned a lecture and she looked up. "Is she hot?" she asked bluntly "I'm more likely to pay attention if she is."

Another sly smile tugged at her eyes as she set the empty mug down and moved back to the small galley, rooting around in the cupboards before she withdrew a bottle tucked away at the back. "Aha!" She moved back to the table a bottle of deep amber liquid in her hand. Keeping the neck in her hand she rested it on the tables edge looking down at Adelle, turning the label for the Correllian Whiskey towards her.

"I can make another pot, or we can start on this. We've got maybe another hour before we hit Rishi and I'll need to jump us to Bothawui."

Adelle Bastiel

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Tessa Monroe

If Adelle didn’t know better, she’d have said Tess was Corellian. She spoke the language of trouble fluently. The idea— Adelle had to stop that maglev train of thought from leaving the station or it would threaten her own composure. She returned Tess’ sly grin with a playful crooked smile.

“I mean, I seem to have gotten your attention so it can’t be all bad,” she said, draining her own mug. Her brain snagged on the question of whether Sibylla was hot or not—with the Voice being as young as she was, that wasn’t ever something that had entered Adelle’s head. “She’s… pretty. But super young. Good head on her shoulders though.”

Tess set a bottle down on the edge of the table, turning the label towards her. Corellian whiskey. Adelle raised her eyebrows up at Tess as the other woman offered it.

“You do realize a Corellian away from their homeworld usually saves that for special occasions, right?” Adelle stared at the bottle. She’d never had a bad bottle of Corellian whiskey and Tess wasn’t a Corellian. And she was offering it freely.

Adelle still felt a little guilty about the idea of drinking it like it was any other booze.

Mom had been a whiskey connossieur. Her father had strong opinions about Corellian traditions.

“Since you’re offering, why the Hells not?” she said after only a moment’s hesitation. “It takes a bit to get me drunk but things are always more fun with a light buzz. I guess the question then is, can you fly tipsy?”

 

[Tessa Monroe]

Tessa winced at the information that Adelle's possible rescue was young and instantly regretted her question. "Noted." she said, choosing to sweep the moment away rapidly. Pretty, level headed but too young to chase.

"See, I always hated that special occasion rule, because any occasion that makes you reach for a good drink should be considered special." She moved back to the galley as soon as Adelle agreed, grabbing glasses and setting them on the table, pulling the top off the whiskey with a soft pop. "If it makes you feel any better, then I would consider making a new friend a special occasion."

She chuckled at the question. "There is only one state that exists that I can't fly in and that is unconscious." She slid the cork back into place and settled back into her sit lifting the glass to Adelle.

"To new friends."

Adelle Bastiel

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Tessa Monroe

The impulse to argue had the explanation for why Corellians didn’t drink Corellian whiskey on the tip of her tongue, but one look at Tess told her that the other woman did not care. But Tess had a point: making new friends was something to be celebrated. Phantom adjusted in her lap, standing only to curl up tighter. Adelle smiled crookedly at Tess and took the offered glass, raising it when she raised her own.

“To new friends,” she said. Then with an absolutely mischievous grin and a wink, added “And good trouble.”

=======​

By the time they’d landed on Bothawui, the whiskey had softened the edges of Adelle’s senses, enough that she felt far more relaxed than she had in a while. The spaceport control had been far more pleasant than Nar Shaddaa’s and they soon found a bar away from the touristy areas. The tourist traps were safer for offworlders and Adelle had reaped the consequences of straying from that logic more than once, but it was hardly an adventure if you played it safe.

Besides that, they’d already established that no matter where they went, trouble was sure to follow.

The bar they’d found wasn’t a dive bar but it certainly didn’t cater to the wealthy or classy. Adelle found a table and sat down, only noticing after the fact that she’d sat in the chair with a clear view of the exit. Some habits even alcohol couldn’t stop.

“Shall we put your boast to the test?” Adelle said as the waiting droid trundled over. “See how well you fly drunk? There’s a drink called the Long Goodbye that’s… well, strong is an understatement.”

 

[Tessa Monroe]

double post

 

[Tessa Monroe]

For someone whose normal haunts were smuggler dens or back rooms in cantinas on the adges of space the bar Adelle picked was actually nice. Not classy or stinking of people with more money than sense, but clean and definitely lacking the unusual suspects she was used to drinking with.

The whiskey had settled nicely in her blood giving her distinct buzz, still capable of making good decisions, just simply less inclined to do so. The smuggler settled into the chair opposite Adelle, leaning back, eyes scanning the room out of habit more than anything else, marking exits and defensive points.

A grin split her features as Adelle’s challenge drew her attention back, “Is it a boast if it's true? Or am I just stating facts?”

She nodded looking at the waiting droid. “We’ll take two.”

Because if she was going down, she was taking Adelle with her. The droid rolled away and Tessa sat forward, arms settling on the table. The alcohol seemed to have down enough to ease the tension that had knotted Adelle's shoulders.

"I'm gonna ask, because I'm curious but feel free to tell me to fuck off." She gave the barest of nods to the scar that marred Adelle's face. "How did you get your scar?"

Adelle Bastiel

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Tessa Monroe

Tess ordered two Long Goodbyes, presumably for the both of them. Adelle grinned and leaned back in her chair, the usual tension and anxiety that twisted her shoulders all but gone. Tess leaned on the table, her blue eyes glittering with a bit of trouble and alcohol.

"I'm gonna ask, because I'm curious but feel free to tell me to fuck off."

Something twinged in her stomach, a sense of unease. Like Adelle knew where this was going.

She gave the barest of nods to the scar that marred Adelle's face. "How did you get your scar?"

Too slow to recover. Pain ripping through her face, the mask that muted her cracking and shattering under the assault. Blinding pain—

Adelle took a deep breath, forcing her jaw to unclench. Phantom rubbed her head against her temple and she closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the sensation she felt now, the soft rumbling she could hear coming from the spukami. She could hear, she could speak, she could feel. The next breath came easier if unsteadily. She wasn’t sure how long it’d been since Tess asked.

She opened her mouth to answer but it felt dry and the words caught in her throat. Adelle looked away, not really seeing the people in the bar. That part shouldn’t be so hard to talk about. It was just another fight. Phantom butted her head against her jaw, pushing and maintaining contact. Adelle reached up to stroke her fur, looking down at the table in front of her.

“Tangled with a crimelord. Clawed weapon. Some kind of alloy with Devaronian Blood Poison mixed in,” she said finally. She turned her face as she pointed at the scars near her cheekbone, faded white lines becoming jagged and ugly. “I was wearing a… a kind of half-mask. This is where the claws tore through it.”

The droid rolled back over with the two drinks balanced on a tray and extended it towards them. Adelle grabbed one as Tess grabbed the other, but only set it on the table and turned the glass idly.

“Some days I still get phantom pains.” She finally picked up the drink and took a healthy gulp from it. Adelle shrugged as Phantom hopped down into her lap, service vest bright and visible. “But I’m sure you’ve heard worse.”

 

[Tessa Monroe]

The moment the question left her lips, Tessa regretted asking. Everything in Adelle tensed again. It was the same as it had when she[‘d been talking abouit Krayt but this somehow seemed deeper. Her eyes glassed for a brief moment as she took on the look of someone who was seeing something that no one else could, sucked into the void of her own mind. Tessa knew that look, she caught her mother lost in the same one from time to time.

She watched and listened without interruption, noti9ng how the spukami had picked up on it as quickly as she had and intervened, giving Adelle something else to focus on. Her breathing started to come a little easier and then she tried to answer and looked away and Tess had to fight the urge to reach for her hand to offer some kind of reassurance.

Adelle didn’t have to answer, Tess had made that clear but the woman seemed determined to do so. A crimelord? She wondered if it was Krayt, the same one she was looking for and then found herself wrestling with curiosity to find out how deep this went. She filled the information away, a clawed weapon wasn’t common, if it was Krayt, it might be a helpful identifier.

Tess let her gaze pull to the drinks as they arrived and thanked the waiter before taking a small sip. It was refreshingly bitter with smoky hints and the unmistakable burn of far too much alcohol, she set it down, regarding it for a moment as if deciding if she liked it or not before Adelle’s own movement and voice drew her back to their conversation.

She snorted in response. “Yeah, you could say that. Heard, seen but fortunately never suffered anything quite so lasting. There’s normally a ship between me and whatever fire is coming my way.” she inclined her head slightly, “Well, most of the time anyway. And when you spend a good chunk of your life surviving fights with bucketheads without your own armour, you tend to get pretty good at dodging…and running.”

Tessa lifted the drink. “I’m a hairs breadth away from being considered a hut’uun.”

Adelle Bastiel​