Lady Luck Never Fails

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Coruscant Undercity

"That's it boys, I win again!"
There was a groan at the table as a pretty Echani woman laid out her cards, a self satisfied smirk on her face.
"Come on now boys. Pay up. And stop yer complainin'," she laughed raising her mug to her lips, "You knew this was coming, dicha? I told ya! I can't lose-"
"It's cuz you're cheatin'!"
The table fell silent. The Echani woman raised a thin white eyebrow at the plump human male, but took a long slow sip of her drink. Nobody moved. Nobody at the table spoke. they were waiting. The glass lowered, but the woman was smiling. At her side, she ran her fingers over her blaster like it was a pet.

"Don't think I heard ya, Friend," she said, feigning ignorance, "but, (and I know this is crazy) it sounded like you called me a cheat. But I know you aint that stupid,"
She quickly drained her mug and motioned for more.

"ya see, it aint 'bout skill here, boys. It's luck. Ya got luck, ya got the whole Frakkin' galaxy at yer finger tips!"
She managed a little wink at the group, (a feat that was getting difficult to manage considering the amount she'd been drinking) then started collecting the cards from her favorite deck.
"Come on. One more round? I promise I won't win... too hard."
With mumbled excuses, the three men at the table got up and left the Echani woman sitting there alone in the dusty Cantina, shuffling cards.

Alone. Again. It always came down to this. She'd collect her winnings, spend it on her bar tab and go back to her creaky little ship. But that was life, and she had one heck of a time with it. Meeting all kinds of crazy people, partying until sunrise on whatever little world she wound up on, Maybe get into a fight, maybe she'd spend the night with one of those crazy people. No commitments. No job to keep her busy. Just drink, fight and play cards.
And she was good at all three.

 

[Caedo Kel]

Caedo had been in the bar for sometime, in his armor he easily passed for being old enough to be there. He also figured nobody wanted to stir a Mandalorian over something as suddenly trivial like age. Still he would not drink as he didn't yet see a reasoning too being young all it did was taste bad and burn. Through out the night he heard yells of sorrow and anger at a few times at a pazaak table not too fair from here.

He felt like new gamblers were stupid because they attempt to get good at it with luck. Sure, luck had a lot to do with it at times but any seasoned player knows it also comes from experience. Despite his age he wasn't a stranger to pazaak the local kids would play it all the time while on down time from training. What struck him when he looked was the fact that their was a female their who had the same key features he once had.

White hair blued eyed and all sure he dyed his hair black to protect himself from ridicule when he was younger but that didn't stifle his interest in learning of people who were actually born his species. When the losers finally seemed beat for the night they grabbed their things and began to file out.

Caedo found himself walking over toward her table, sitting down at first without a word till he finally spoke albeit through his helmet. "Not often do I see one of my kind down here."

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

There were two mando's that sat at her table. No... no..... just one. She was starting to see double. Speaking of being drunk, where was the drink she ordered? She motioned for the bartender, only to have him shake his head at her. Cutting her off already? The party just got started. She mouthed the word 'water', and the man behind the counter happily complied, setting a dusty-looking glass of the clear liquid in front of her. She set her deck down, grinning at the newcomer.
"Yer 'kind'?" she slurred with a little bark-like laugh, "I dunremver havin' a head like that, man!"
Without asking permission or even getting his name first, she reached over to knock on the helmet.

"I'ma Echani," she 'esplaned' to him (to say she 'explained' in her state would not be correct) "Ya know wha' that means? It means I'm... awesome."
She laughed again, snorting as she tried to drink her water. A good bit of it got on the front of her tunic..
"We're a proud and... and awesome race. Noble and stuff."

 

[Caedo Kel]

A part of Caedo was dismayed at the woman's apparent drunkenness and despite her speaking that they were a proud and noble 'race' she didn't currently show that. Without hesitation, he took off his helmet allowing his long mane of black hair to flow down the back of his armor. However, what would show her he spoke the truth was his piercing blue almost electric eyes. He seconded the order of water and received a rather weird look from the bartender and one flash of his vibro daggers made the bartender spur into action of fulfilling their order.

"Really? Could have fooled me. But maybe your just different from our species." He said this casually but his eyes grew intense intensifying his now electric eyes. "Now based off what I was made to know in the cryo-tube Echani can find out more about a person through battle. So how about a bar spar? Truly a real Echani can't turn that down."

Activating a command through his HUD, his armored began to shift around eventually scaling off of his form and folding it self into a brief case. He stood up from the table taking two steps back before squaring up with the supposed Echani.

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

She watched him remove his helmet with a frown. No sense of humor, this one. He claimed he was an Echani, and yet here he was with hair the color of dirty water. If she were sober, she could see it in an instant that he dyed it, but in her state, the only thing she could do was snort/giggle.
"Ahh, Kiddo, ya gatta be kiddin' me! Awfully cheap trick, challenging me when I can't hardly move my hand without makin' a mess."
At least she was smart enough to know when she had the (self inflicted) disadvantage. With a smile and wink at the bartender, she left her winnings right there on the table in front of her. That should pay for the bill she'd racked up throughout the night.

"Still..." she stood up, stumbled, but managed not to fall flat on her face, "If it's a fight ya want, you'll get one. You're right. I can't turn it down. But let's take it outside. I like this Cantina. And mister what-his-face over there-" she pointed to the barkeep, "-'sbeen real friendly tonight."
She cracked her knuckles, picked up her well-loved deck and stowed it in a pouch at her side.

"I should warn ya. I've only ever lost once, Kid," she said jerking her head to the door as she stuck her hands deep in her pockets, "And you don't look nothin' like my sister."

 

[Verz Horak]

Verz was looking for Caedo Kel. The kid was apparently in a bar, as Verz's HUD told him. Why would the kid be here, of all places? Most likely trying to get a drink when he shouldn't be. Verz walked into the bar, looking around. He spotted Caedo with...an Echani? He took a closer look and saw that the Echani looked exactly like Janira Fenni, another Echani he had fought in hand to hand combat. He approached the card table, and sat down. He looked over at Caedo, helmet still on, and spoke in a parental tone.

"Caedo, why are you here? You're barely old enough to drink. Shouldn't you be on Mandalore right now?"

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

The barkeep caught Rel Connory's eye, and the beat-up, rough-edged young spacer ambled into Zandra's path. He glanced at the Mandos -- each of them more than capable of beating the clart out of him -- before focusing on the Echani.

"Hey there," he said. "I heard somethin' about a fight, and before these Mandos start trying to beat your drunk rear to a pulp, I was wondering if I could get your story. See, I write about people, and I've heard about you. You even beat me in a sabacc game once, but that hardly narrows it down. An Echani cardshark -- that's a story I gotta hear. The sorta story that Connory, Bard of the Hyperlanes, would turn into a verse for his song. I'm not sayin' I'm him, mind.

"Besides. Your tin-can friends here can't begrudge you a little time to sober up."

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The Echani was a little too drunk to realize what was going on. Had she drank a little less, she might of known that both of these men were trying to do. they were trying to save her from an embarrassing defeat- something that for an Echani, was about twice as embarrassing as it would be for any human. She didn't feel grateful as she should, just distracted. Lady luck was looking out for her once again.
''You do look a tad on the familiar side," she agreed, "If ma new metal friend here don't mind, I guess I could spare a few."
Not that she would actually bother asking him. She settled back in her chair, resting her feet up on the table.

"So I beat ya, right? Though, to be frank, I don't lose, so don't really narrow it down. Still, your face stands out..." she peered at the man closely, (a little too closely), "You and I, err... didn't go back ta your place after an'... you know? Did we? I don' really recall."
Wouldn't be a surprise if she did. She was a woman who liked to have fun. That was just part of it.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"Naw, you were a gentleman," he said with a grin. "I was such a hussy that night, but you wouldn't have anything to do with me. Well, at least, I think that was you."

He shot a glance at the Mandalorians, expecting an interruption at any second.

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

For a good thirty seconds she stared at him as if deciding if he was joking. Then the joke finally found it's way into her brain through all the alcohol. She threw her head back and let out a sharp, high pitched giggle.
"Oh, I like you! You're funny!"
She liked just about everybody though when she was this drunk, so it wasn't saying very much.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

He took the slap with good grace and a grin, then raised his voice. "Hey, barkeep, toss us a couple of Sober Reflections."

"You sure, Rel?"

"Bro, I have never been more sure."

The glasses that arrived were full of something abominable and blue. "This will cure everything you've got," said Rel, lifting one. "I fully intend to sweat out the Ol'Janx Spirit."

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

She blinked at him a little stupidly. Even in her state she had to wonder why he would try to help her. she'd actually forgot about the mando that'd insulted her earlier.
"What's this, then?" she asked, raising the cup of blue stuff to get a better look, "Smells foul. Look, if you're tryin' ta trick me so ya can get the credits I won from ya back, you're outta luck, friend. Already spent 'em."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"If you're worried about gettin' tricked, drink up." He followed his own advice with a grimace, and coughed away the aftertaste. "I guarantee you'll be thinking with painful clarity in about thirty seconds."

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Her mother always told her not to accept drinks from strangers. Her sister always told her not to drink at all. Zandra never listened to her Mother or her sister. Still watching the man suspiciously, but raised the foul smelling stuff to her lips anyway. One sip and she felt like she was going to vomit.
"Oi! What is this!? Tar!?" she asked coughing, "Did you just make me drink tar!?"
She was making a face like a woman that just encountered a dead rodent in her bed. Still, it was surprisingly sobering.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"I didn't make you drink anything," he said with a grin. "I told you it'd be painful clarity. Guess you've got the pain part down. And the clarity should show up in five, four, three, two..."

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Right on cute. It did show up. It showed up with a painful spark, clearing away all the fog that she was, actually rather enjoying. She didn't buy all those drinks for the taste, after all.
"Ooookaaaay. There it is," she hissed through her teeth, hand on her forehead, "You weren't kidding... What is that stuff?"
She took her feet off the table so she could lean forward and bury her face in her hands.
"And why would you bother to help me?"

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"'Cuz I've got sisters." He shifted to a lighter note. "And they've got some white clothes in their wardrobes, so I know a thing or two about dry cleaning bills after fights."

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

She rolled her eyes as well as she could with a headache, tapping uneven fingernails on the table.
"Yeah? Well, I aint your sister," she replied, "And it's none of your business. Still...."
She sighed, straightened up and held out a hand to him.
"Thanks, I guess. My laundry appreciated it."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

He shook the offered hand. "'Course you're not," he said amiably. "It's sort of a secret brotherhood of men thing. I give you a hand, some other guy gives my sister a hand, wherever she is."

He stood, swishing the last of the foul drink around in his mouth.

"Think I'm going to hit the sack. No, not an invitation. Not this time, anyway. I need to sleep off this headache. Call me sometime. Rel Connory -- I'm known to some."