Private Delt A Good Hand In Life

[James 'Slinger' Antilles]

Slinger was enjoying himself, he was doing his three favourite things, drinking, playing cards and telling stories. Oh and thanks to his partner at the table he was dealing cards to, they were winning.

"So there I was gun belt round my ankles, in a non too compromising position I might tell you when, pow two Gamorrean thugs working for a local Hutt barged in." James exclaimed to his enraptured audience.

"Just deal the cards Slinger" One man sighed.

"Aw but we're getting to the best part! So anyway where was I? Oh right! So there I was gun belt round my ankles in a non too compromising position, when two Gamorrean thugs barged in."

"Dammit Slinger just deal the cards!" The man interrupted and exclaimed.

Slinger scowled, he hated it when someone interrupted just before the climax. It was just plain rude. Still the story had served it's purpose whether to entertain or enrage the object was to distract. To have them so focused on Slinger and whatever he was spewing they didn't notice that his partner in cahoots was getting all the high cards. Slinger shuffled the deck theatrically taking his sweet time about it, only enraging the man further.

Slinger eventually relented dealing the cards making sure the enraged man, Slinger thought his name was Phaelix got the low end and Thalira Kiing got the high card.

"Anyway, now that the cards have been dealt back to the story" Slinger said "So there I was gun belt around my ankles, when two Gamorrean thugs-

"This is Bantha poodoo!" The man said enraged at his hand "I've never had this much bad luck in my life."

Phaelix threw his cards down on the table.

"Now now friend we all have a bad run now and then, perhaps your luck will change. They say Lady Luck is a fickle mistress, and I should know-"

"Krak you Slinger you and your Bantha poodoo shpiel! All you do is talk! I'll shut that loud mouth for good!" Phaelix declared, he reached for his blaster. Slinger showed the other reason he got his name, and had his blaster out first, trained dead eye on Phaelix.

"Now now Phaelix." Slinger said softly steel in his voice.

Phaelix swallow and slowly removed his hand.

"I think you're done for the night friend, why don't you get some air."

Phaelix stalked off in a huff.

"But perhaps he's right. I've been holding up the table, how rude of me. What about you young lady? Tell me about yourself?"

Slinger turned to his partner in crime keeping up the act that they didn't know each other, and in truth they didn't know each other well. James had gotten drunk with her just the other night and mentioned in passing while telling one of his stories that he was a sly hand at cards. Next thing you know they're pulling a con together.

 

[Thalira Kiing]

The cantina reeked of desperation and the galaxy's underbelly. The usual suspects were there—smugglers hiding from the law, mercenaries grabbing a drink between jobs, and, of course, the poor souls convinced they were only one lucky hand away from making a quick cred.

Those were the targets tonight.

Thalira Kiing sat at the sabacc table, lazily nursing a glass she'd been working on for most of the evening. Beside her sat a bottle of expensive Galactic Vintage brandy that was probably worth more than some of the patrons in the cantina. To the untrained eye, she'd left it carelessly perched right there on the table.

But very little about Thalira was careless.

From her deep red shoulderless dress and elegantly braided hair to the practiced confidence she wore like jewelry, she had crafted the image of a wealthy socialite hopelessly out of her depth. Most people saw a spoiled rich girl with too much confidence, too much money, and not nearly enough sense.

Exactly what she wanted them to see.

"Tell you about myself?" Thalira echoed Slinger's question with a smile that practically asked, 'Of course you want to know about me.'

"Where do I start?" she mused, loud enough for the surrounding patrons to overhear, but subtle enough not to seem desperate for attention. "I'm from Coruscant. Upper levels, obviously. Daddy's a politician with far too much money and nowhere near enough personality. I got tired of all the galas and speeches, so I came out here looking for adventure."

She paused, swirling the amber liquid in her glass.

"Thought maybe I'd open a casino someday. But I wanted the authentic experience first." A grin tugged at her lips. "Turns out I'm a natural."

She said those last words with entirely too much confidence—as though arrogance, beginner's luck, and a challenge had all somehow become one and the same.

Finally, she reached across the table and gathered the pile of credit chips from the very fair game she and Phaelix had just played. With meticulous care, she sorted them into neat little stacks before casually placing a handful of chips back into the pot.

Leaning back in her chair, she sighed dramatically.

"What does a girl have to do to find a decent opponent around here, Mister Slinger?"

The question hung in the air like an invitation.

An invitation for someone to prove themselves.

An invitation to humble the overconfident rich girl from Coruscant.

Unfortunately for them, the cards had a funny habit of favoring her.

James 'Slinger' Antilles

 

[James 'Slinger' Antilles]

Slinger grinned at Thalira's cocky confidence. Fortunately being amused by her antics was well within his character, and suited given that they were the only ones with big piles of chips left. The rest of the table were looking on with disgust and boiling range, there were only two other players left, a Nautolan and a Togruta. Their budding rage was obvious.

If Slinger played it right that would work to his advantage. Several things could happen, they could just be distracted from their cards which would be advantage enough, they could walk away inflamed like the previous occupant to have left, or things just might devolve into a brawl.

Slinger surreptitiously downloaded his electronic chips onto his comm band. The chips were just symbols, physical copies of the amount of credits at stake, each one had a data chip to be downloaded by the person possessing them.

Slinger scratched his left ear in the signal for Thalira to wrap things up, letting her know to do the same.

"Well if it's adventure you want you came to the right place, right boys?" The companions at the table scowled.

"You sure are a natural" Slinger said in his drawl. "Ain't that right boys. I ain't ever seen such luck, still you wanna be careful. A fine prize at this table an' all, but some would take advantage of a rich young heiress spending money freely at an establishment such as this."

The two players got thoughtful looks.

"Well, I'll admit the competition here is a lil stale shall we say. Meaning no offense boys, but it takes a certain class of player, perhaps even a certain class of person to sit with the company here before you."

The two looked outraged, the Nautolan was reaching not so subtly towards his blaster.

"Well as it is I guess I'll just have to take my winnings and escort the young lady outta her from this reputable abode. I wonder if her very rich father on Coruscant will appreciate my returning her safely home with a reward."

"You ain't going no where!" The Togruta exclaimed, he drew, the Nautolan right behind him. Slinger drew faster. It was over in two half second moments.

Slinger leaned over to scan their chips into his comm band.

"Time for us to be going me thinks."

Which is when Phaelix returned this time with reinforcements.

"Well poodoo"

Thalira Kiing

 

[Thalira Kiing]

The smile on Thalira's face vanished.

Not slowly. Not reluctantly. It simply disappeared, along with the spoiled heiress from Coruscant and all the arrogance and bubbly confidence that came with her. The wide-eyed socialite who had come to this hellhole looking for adventure had ceased to exist.

What remained was Thalira Kiing.

Her eyes flicked to Phaelix and the group he had returned with. Then to the bodies on the floor. Then to the exits. Calculating the situation.

The whole process took less than a second.

"This is why people like us drink so much," she remarked dryly.

Without a hint of urgency in her movements, she reached forward and began collecting chips. Her chips. Slinger's chips. The dead men's chips. At this point, ownership had become a rather philosophical matter. One by one they disappeared into her purse as quickly and efficiently as if she'd been born doing it.

She noticed the bottle of Galactic Vintage sitting on the table. One of Phaelix's goons seemed to spot it as well.

"Oh, absolutely not."

Thalira snatched the expensive brandy up immediately, tucking it securely beneath one arm.

"I'm not leaving this behind."

Phaelix and his companions were closing the distance now, but Thalira hardly spared them a glance. Instead, she reached for her glass, downed the remainder of the amber liquid in one smooth motion, and finally rose from her chair.

Gone was the haughty posture. Gone was the exaggerated confidence. She stood differently now. Relaxed, perhaps, but purposeful. There was something sharper in her eyes than before. Something that suggested this wasn't her first bad night in a cantina.

Her gaze drifted toward Slinger.

"Just like the gamorreons, ay?"

A moment.

"Just keep your pants on this time."

Then her eyes shifted back to Phaelix and his reinforcements.

"Lead the way, Slinger."

The corner of her mouth tugged upward into the faintest hint of a smirk.

"And try not to get us killed. I'd hate for this brandy to go to waste."

James 'Slinger' Antilles

 

[James 'Slinger' Antilles]

James grinned at Thalira's first quip.

"I dunno bout that. Pretty sure I'd drink regardless" James responded easily. "Gotta have some joy in life in this crap hill 'verse"

James eyed Phaelix and his goons for a moment, so far they hadn't opened fire, which all things considered was probably a good thing. Slinger true to his name was quick on the draw, and he had no doubt Thalira could take care of herself, but Phaelix and his men numbered half a dozen to their two. Might be they'd survive a stand up shoot out, might be they didn't. James would put it at even odds making it through without a new hole put in him or two or three.

As it was James was rapidly coming to the conclusion that discretion was the better part of valour. Though he wasn't sure a noble stand over cheating at cards was all that demonstrative of valour.

"Hey at least I have Sling and Sting in reach this time." James quipped back at Thalira as he started to edge his way towards the back side door. It was to their left, on the right of the bar past the kitchens and lavatory.

"I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that in this instance discretion is the better part of valour." James informed Thalira echoing his thoughts. "On my mark… Mark!"

James ran for it, slinging his pistols into his hands as he did so firing off a few rapid fire covering shots at the goons. James had the brief moment of satisfaction that even while running his aim hadn't failed him. Two of the goons fell Unfortunately Phaelix was either smarter or more cowardly than the rest and dove to the floor.

James's satisfaction was quickly a thing of the past when the goons started firing back. James stopped at the edge of the bar to turn and provide more covering fire for Thalira.

"Leap frog it!" James called out to Thalira, hoping she had enough military experience to understand him.

Thalira Kiing