Private Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras

Jacen's invitation was sent instantaneously to its recipient, assuming Inhye Oh-chai had power routed to her holonet terminal. He hoped she did, and that she'd accept, otherwise the drink he just ordered for her would sweat and water down while he waited.

He pressed the rim of his own glass to his lips, feeling the familiar sting of a strong whiskey as the Liberty's Flame filled his mouth and warmed his belly. The spacer had just wrapped up a job on Susevfi and was making a pit stop here on Adras to refuel and stock up on foodstuffs. Normally, he'd had gone straight to Inhye's homestead in the steppes, but this next trip was quite a ways out - all the way to the Wild Space Republic, in fact - and he'd need some good ole fashioned freeze-dried meal kits to make it there and back.

She'd understand, Jacen reasoned as he looked at his glass. He gave it a little shake and watched the ice cubes roll around in the bright amber liquid. It reminded him of Toshara, another destination he needed to make his way back to one of these days. But between roaming Sith, pissed off slavers, and never-ending pirates, it was hard to go anywhere without a cash reward calling your name.

"Yer friend comin' or what, Jay? I got folks wantin' to lose their credits," the grimy Besalisk who ran the place said. He'd walked up behind Jacen, giving him a bit of a startle when he spoke. "Stars, Drenn, don't sneak up on me like that!" Jacen spat. "What if I thought you were a Sith? What if I blasted you?" Drenn chuckled.

"If I were a Sith, you'd be dead." Jacen shook his head, easing into the humor. Drenn was just busting his chops. The cantina wasn't even half full. "Don't worry, she'll be here," Jacen said. He leaned forward and tapped a button on the Sabaac table, waking the little droid in the center. Its arms sprung free and began shuffling the decks.

 

[Inhye Oh-chai]

"Jacen!"

In a few minutes' time, Inhye's voice easily sounded through the soft cantina ambience. Her tone was jovial, as was the expression on her face, as she walked over to the spacer's chosen sabaac table with arms outstretched for a hug.

"You're such an ass."

If he stood up to give her one, she'd whisper that in his ear before pulling back from the embrace. Either way, her words had a teasing lilt, though she was partially serious in her meaning as well. She was also still wearing a warm smile. "I have drink and tiles at home," she added as she put her hands in the pockets of her poncho and found her seat.

Jacen Terrik​

 

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras
Round 1: 2 & 4

"It's good to get out," Jacen mused back. "See the world, smell the roses!" He stood to give Inhye a hug, smiling kindly. She was a good friend and a great homesteader; he hoped she wasn't offended by the change in business this trip. In part, that's why he called her here. A trip to Adras just wasn't complete without saying hello to his old friend.

That, and he knew it would be a little while longer than usual before he'd be back in this neck of the Outer Rim.

"I picked up a nice contract with the Wild Space Republic," he said, grinning. "Gonna pick up a freighter on Comet Chaser and fly her through Hutt space over to Nadiem. Good payout, easy flying, and the best part? It's a Miyuki job. Ever heard of 'em?"

While he spoke, Jacen took his hand from the dealer droid and gave them a looksie. Two and a four. Not bad, he thought. The droid spun 180 degrees toward Inhye and offered her a pair of cards as well. "Ever played Toshara Sabaac? The rules are pretty simple, nothing fancy. You want a matching pair, the lower the value the better."

Spoiler: Toshara Sabaac Rules

 

[Inhye Oh-chai]

Round 1: 6 | 6

"You're a few seasons early for roses," she quipped, being intentionally dense.

She took hold of the drink that had been bought for her with her hand arcing concave over the lip. She brought it to her mouth and sipped, watching him over the glass as he drew. With a quiet smack of her whetted lips, she set the drink back down and unbuttoned and shrugged off her poncho. "Hold on, hotshot. Are we just playing for fun?" A hint of reality crossed her face. "I don't have talons to spare this rotation. Harvest's late."

She shook her head, indicating she hadn't played this or any version of sabaac before. Konpira had been her game of choice when entertaining members and visitors of Katashi's court. This looked to be not at all like that. "Right."

The two cards she drew were matching sixes.

Jacen Terrik​

 

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras

Jacen smirked. "Just for fun, Hye. I like to have fun sometimes, you know. It's not always shooting and looting." When the dealer droid spun round his way, he slid a token into the tray and eyes the thing carefully, willing it to pass him a good card. "Gotta make room for the little things, like a good drink," he said, tipping the glass at Inhye, "or a friendly game of Sabacc, or..." he trailed off, glancing at the card he drew.

It was a six.​

"... or pulling a bad kriffin' card." Jacen laughed at himself, laying the six down on the discard pile and keeping his original hand. He took a healthy sip of his drink, paused a moment to suffer the burn, then looked to Inhye. "What's in season on Adras this time of year? I'm buying processed this trip, but I might spring for something fresh to hold me over for the first day or two." He'd caught her comment about being talon-less a bit late.

It wasn't any sweat off his back to toss a pal a few credits, especially when they were selling as fine a product as Hye did. Jacen was hard-pressed to find anything quite as fresh as her yield.

---

Round 1: 2 & 4
Round 2: 2 & 4

 

[Inhye Oh-chai]

"Plenty, but I don't need any money," she replied to Jacen's question, having an idea as to his motive for asking. She looked up at him from drawing another card just to discard it. "Thank you. I'm not destitute. I only mean that it'd be irresponsible of me to gamble with you this time. I already do it with the climate, and the odds have been in its favor so far this year." She shrugged, taking another drink. "They'll come back my way. Just gotta wait.

"But, just for your information, I can vacuum seal tteok and teach you how to prepare them. Next time you're preparing for a long haul job, come for a visit."

---

Round 1: 6 | 6
Round 2: 6 | 6

Jacen Terrik​

 

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras

“I dunno what the hell tteok is, but I bet it’s a lot more appetizing than synthmeat.” Jacen laughed at his own words, suddenly realizing that he had no idea what sythmeat was even made of - a fact that was morbidly worsened when he considered just how often he ate it on long jumps.

He settled down to a smile at Inhye’s offer. “That’d be nice,” he said. “I’d like to see the old place. Peek in on the stables.” There was a special mount that Jacen had formed a bond with over the course of many stops at the homestead. He wanted to see her before winter settled in on Adras.

Inhye drew and discarded again, giving Jacen a creeping feeling that he’d been beaten this hand. He pulled a new card, a three, and replaced his four with it. A one was better than a two, he supposed. Whether Inhye would stand or not was yet to be seen, but he’d buy her another drink or maybe a nice dinner either way when the game was done.

Assuming she didn’t want to go for round two, that is.

---

Round 1: 2 & 4
Round 2: 2 & 4
Round 3: 2 & 3

 

[Inhye Oh-chai]

"It sure fething is." She reached for another card offered by the droid dealer. A three. She discarded it. "Yes, please do. The animals miss you."

His special mount was pregnant too, unbeknownst to him. In that moment, Inhye decided not to tell him. It's be a nice surprise for him whenever he did make it up into the mountains. If he was lucky enough, he'd come around in time for the birth. Maybe he wouldn't want to witness the actual event, but it was still magical to see a newborn the day after.

---

Round 1: 6 | 6
Round 2: 6 | 6
Round 3: 6 | 6

Jacen Terrik​

 

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras

Jacen smirked knowingly as he laid his hand down face-up for Inhye to see. "No sabacc, just a one," he said. He tapped the pair of cards in order, showing that his score was the difference between the highest and lowest value in the hand.

Whether he won or not -and it was doubtful that he would- Jacen was a good sport. Even with strangers and thugs, he was considerably good at taking a loss considering how brash he tended to behave in other circumstances where the stakes were higher than playing cards. Inhye could attest to that herself, having heard dozens of horror stories from the spacer about jobs that went belly-up.

---

Round 1: 2 & 4
Round 2: 2 & 4
Round 3: 2 & 3

 

[Inhye Oh-chai]

Inhye laid her hand down on the table so that Jacen could see the cards. She didn't know to call in sabacc but she did know it was a matching pair, "Beginner's luck. Sorry, spacer."

She set back and took a long drink from her glass. "So, update me on Yumfla," she continued, changing the topic suddenly but necessarily. Over the last couple weeks, she hadn't heard how the mission he had organized to the capital of Susevfi had gone. As much was her own fault really: something had always gotten in the way of asking someone after it. Now that she had an opportunity to ask Jacen himself, she couldn't pass it up. "How'd the relief go?"

Part of Inhye was curious for curiosity's sake, but there was also a practical side to her inquisitiveness. Adras was essentially right on the Sith frontier. Reports were that the western side of the Order's cloud had expanded recently. Hopefully, that was a sign that Adras would be spared for some time to come.

Hopefully.

Jacen Terrik​

 

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras

"Not bad, actually," Jacen said with his classic chitty spacer smirk. Clearly he'd expected it to have gone nowhere and wasn't keen to admit he was wrong, even when being wrong was a good thing. That was just classic Jacen, and knowing him, he'd lost a bet somewhere against Yumfla's odds. "Funny thing, I ran into my cousin there. Had a drink with him in what I can only assume is Yumfla's last cantina standing - they've got great seafood, by the way."

Riven Terrik, the aforementioned cousin, was a half-Mirialan through his father's side of the family. Where exactly he was on the family tree - and who exactly slept with a Mirialan - was unclear to Jacen, but it didn't matter much. Family was family, and the Terrik's were a dying breed in the Outer Rim.

Jacen laughed to himself. "We had a few drinks before finding out just how hard it was to load a skiff on the beach. Luckily there were a few street kids lookin' to make a few talons. Riv and I traded lunch for their help getting all the cargo to the city square. Never seen kids eat that fast before." The smile he'd been wearing slipped for just a second, but he didn't let the onset of sympathy last long. Just as fast as it faded, Jacen's roguish smile was back.

"I'd say it was a good trip. I may even stop by in a few weeks to see how things are going. Grab a drink, play a few hands of sabacc. Maybe even stay for a night or two." It was beginning to sound like Jacen liked the place, and revealing his favorite spots in the galaxy was not something he did often; you never know when your most-frequented rest stops will need to double as a place to lay low.

 

[Inhye Oh-chai]

Inhye was listening and watching Jacen with an amused grin at his storytelling ability, but his faltered, hers followed suit. It didn't recover nearly as quickly as his did. As she replied, her face was still somewhat despondent, though she spoke with sincerity. "Well, if you want a companion this time too, let me know."

Her face snapped to shocked neutrality as realization struck. Companion out here could be slang for something quite friendly. "Not like that." She laughed and an embarrassed smile worked its way over her lips. "I still sometimes forget—" A beat of silence passed, a sigh, and a roll of her eyes. "—I'm not on Atrisia anymore."

Jacen Terrik​

 

[Jacen Terrik]

Tags: Inhye Oh-chai
Location: Nezan, Adras

Jacen chuckled along with her, realizing too the error of her verbiage, but only after she pointed it out; Inhye was a good friend with a not-so-good example of what like could really be like until she got off that misogynistic rock. “No worries, old friend,” he said warmly. “I could certainly use a copilot these days,” he said with a smile.

In truth, he liked to work alone, but who said he’d have to bring Hye along for jobs alone? There was the cantina on Yumfla, that cliff on Sevarcos, an old Miyuki bunker on Toshara - Jacen had plenty enough hiding spots to give up a few for a nice trip with his friend.

“You just say the word and I’ll pick you up for a few days.”