First Reply Is the Thief of Joy

[Ran Serys]

Nar Shaddaa - Undercity

Ran Serys sat at the edge of the counter in the Nar Shaddaa Cantina. The Bartender polished a glass while eyeing her. He was trying to get a good look at the face she kept so carefully concealed in the shadows of her hood. She didn’t eye him back. She knew better than to eye the bartender in a place like this. She was an outsider and doing so would only bring trouble her way. Instead she turned away, scanned the crowd, and sipped her drink, not lingering too long on any one foreign form.

She was looking for someone. A ship thief. The thief that stole her ship. A ship that had been in her possession for too many years, The Onyx Runner. She had gotten it basically for free, through playing a lucky hand of Sabacc. The thought had crossed her mind to forget about it. Like a smuggler, the Jedi Master had other ships stashed, a few on Selvaris came to mind, but she wanted “her” ship. It housed so many precious memories, and as a person with a limited amount of good ones, she decided she couldn’t leave them behind even metaphorically. There were also lightsaber schematics, her personal holocron, and a few datapads worth of journals containing dangerous data that would be better left in her care than anyone else’s. She had to find this thief and her ship.

That’s when she saw a young twi’lek man flashing credits, and miming some hotwiring techniques, as he bragged to a group of friends. Bingo! She thought to herself as she downed the rest of her drink and prepared to traverse the capacity and sordid crowd between her and the suspected thief.

Tags: Open
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[Alexander Hayes]

Ever since the Galactic Alliance had fallen, Alexander had become quite familiar with a variety of cantinas. The one in Nar Shaddaa’s Undercity was no different, although the K’paur favoured this one for potential mercenary work.

It was the only thing keeping him from just floating around the galaxy aimlessly. Being an Alliance marine had been that focus for so long. Part of him missed his brothers and sisters in arms, but at the same time Alex was no stranger to working as a lone wolf.

Meant he got paid handsomely for taking jobs more suited for two or three people. Higher the risk, the higher the reward; and the adrenaline that accompanied it. Of all the highs that Alex had been chasing however, gambling hadn’t been one of them, ironically enough.

Guess I haven’t fallen too far if I haven’t been gripped by that vice.

But that was to say nothing about his reckless gambling of his own life every other day.

Alexander grumbled something under his breath, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. He was seated in a small booth, tucked away in a corner so he could observe those entering and leaving. That’s when he caught sight of her; tall, hooded, female. Nothing too out of the ordinary for this neighbourhood, but the K’paur recognised it when someone was on a mission. It was the way she was glancing around; searching, while trying to keep their face as obscured as possible.

Someone who's concerned that they’d be recognised?

That got Alexander’s interest, and he kept a watchful eye for when the stranger looked towards his general direction.

Green skin, markings over lower lip and chin, below eyes too. Mirialian.

But then something in the back of the K’paur’s head sparked…he recognised her. A name didn’t surface, but Alexander remembered faces.

However, before he could muse any further about it, he caught sight of what she was seemingly after. A group of youngsters, one a male Twi’lek who was making a show of some credits. For a moment he wondered what the mysterious Mirialian wanted with them, until he caught sight of something else.

Without skipping a beat, the K’paur finished his own drink and made a move towards the bar.

“Careful. Three tables to the left of your mark. You’re not the only one eyeing them up.” Alexander spoke in a hushed tone, just enough for Ran to hear, as he casually slid onto the stool next to her.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

As Ran leaned forward to escape her stool, she stopped. She caught the hushed words of the man who so deftly positioned himself onto the stool beside her and paused. She didn't look at the man, but she did heed his warning. A quick glance at the other side of the Cantina and she could see she was right to. Three tables to the left of the Twi'lek male was a trio of rough looking spacers, the kind that didn't need much to give off an aura of quiet menace, and they were watching the Twi'lek with interest.

Ran could see it as she had so many times before, the subtle hints of the spacer's blasters hidden under their heavy jackets while knives and other small bludgeoning weapons were kept inside boots. She wondered if they were there to rob him, or if they, like her, were on the wrong side of a recovery mission. Whatever the case, it seemed they were waiting for the right time to strike which gave Ran more time to reevaluate and think on how she'd proceed.

"Thank you for the tip, Stranger." Ran turned to him. "Now what do you want for it?" She eyed the man, slightly pulling back her hood and breaking one of her rules of engagement only because he had broken them first. "I don't mean to offend but I assume you haven't pointed those men out because you're an altruist? Or am I wrong?" The Jedi questioned plainly and doubtfully. To find someone acting out of the goodness of their heart on Nar Shaddaa would be nothing short of a miracle.

Tags: Alexander Hayes
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