Liquor in the front, poker in the rear.

[Eliza Steele]

​

Afterburner Cantina​

Worlport, Ord Mantell​

​

Ord Mantell, the heart of the bright jewel, was Eliza Steele's main port of call making most of her smuggling runs out of the Mid Rim planet. It's capital city, Worlport, was like Mos Eisely on Tatooine, but bigger and definitely not as hot or had as much sand; more dirt and dust really. The cityscape reminded the spirited Corellisi of her homeworld (now destroyed) with the Corellian classic revival architecture; the spires, monoliths, vast rotundas, round arches, and large colonnades.

Having received an urgent message from her father, [member="Remy Steele"], to meet him on planet, the petite smuggler made her way from the docking bay at the spaceport where the Corellian Dawn was berthed to her favorite drinking hole she frequented while between runs. The bartender of the Afterburner was a good friend of hers and… Well hers. She wasn't on speaking terms with the scruffy looking nerfhearder right now so it didn't matter.

Dressed in her usual spacer attire consisting of a button down tunic/vest combo, nicely fitted trousers with a yellow stripe running down the outside of each pant leg tucked into high leather boots along with her favored weapon a DL-44 Heavy blaster pistol holstered low off her shapely right hip and tied off on her toned thigh, Steele swaggered into the spacer bar with an air of confidence about her. Dark chocolate eyes scanned the room noting the usual scum and villainy along with the regulars she was accustomed to seeing, though she didn't see the elder Steele anywhere.

Figures I'm on time and the old man is late.

Crossing over to the bar, the petite yet far from weak expresso haired woman flashed the older bartender a lopsided grin as she walked up to the counter. "Hey there, Charlie!."

"Hey, darlin'! You want your usual."

"Sure… A Twistler would be great."

The barkeep nodded knowingly, then quickly made the spirited Corellisi's order and placed it in front of the brunette smuggler.

"Thanks… You haven't seen my dad have ya?" the young Steele smiled, then flipped the bartender a credit chip that would cover the night's tab and a nice tip to boot. After all, Charlie Boone was a dear friend and she always took good care of dear friends.

"Nope… Not today. He was here last night for the big game though, but you didn't hear that from me."

Eliza winked in conspiracy and grabbed a bag of shelled peanuts before leaving the bar, then walked over to a booth in the corner where she waited patiently yet anxiously for her company to show; cracking and eating the peanuts, and partaking in the fruity alcoholic drink favored by Corellians.

It had been awhile since father and daughter had seen one another… Hopefully the salty dog had kept himself out of trouble and he wasn't needing her to bail him out of a jam, again.

 

[Judah Lesan]

Remy sat up in the bed puffing on a Sweet Theed as he watched the young blonde he'd been with the night before put her clothes back on as she was complaining about being late to work.

"Not that last night wasn't worth it... Totally changed my mind on older men for sure..."

Right because the fact Remy was the owner of the Afterburner now didn't have anything to do with it. Oh well if it got the grizzled smuggler some booty on occasion, he'd take it. The Corellian wasn't going to complain if some hot young thing wanted to get him in bed. They weren't gonna get a job just because they jumped his bones. They were more than welcome to try though.

Putting his own clothes on from the night before, Remy followed the blonde down and spotted his daughter at the bar. Lizzy was gonna flip out! The man knew when she found out he'd put her ship up on bet in the game last night it might be the last thing he said to her. Well, the last thing he said to her until her mother's Corellian temper blew over. Gods she reminded him of her mother, so free spirited. Remy missed her.

"Hey, Charlie... whiskey, the good stuff..." he called out as he winked to his daughter.

Once he kissed the blonde goodbye he tossed the number she'd given him with her comm frequency. Right like he was gonna call. Girls like her wanted a sugar daddy, or a relationship. Remy was just after the sex. He figured no one could replace his wife, so no one would. Sitting in the booth across from his little girl, Remy plopped the deed to the afterburner in front of his daughter with a big toothy grin.

"I won us a bar!"

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Remy Steele"]

Watching her father suck face with a young pretty thing after what looked like a long night of action always made Eliza's stomach sour. She knew the elder Steele had needs, wants, and desires…. Yeah, the spirited Corellisi gave the fifty-something widower that, but did they have to be even younger than her?!

The petite smuggler just knew something was up when Remy slid into the booth with a cheshire grin plastered across his smart mug, and it was proved by him tossing a deed down onto the table top in front of her.

"A bar? Yeah right," the brunette scoffed and picked up the flimsi, unfolding it to peruse through it. Well it did appear official. Skeptical dark eyes though raised to look into her old man's similar ones. "You won this place, the Afterburner… and how did you exactly come to do this, hmm… I thought you were broke last time we spoke?"

 

[Judah Lesan]

"Now before you get all huffy on me like your mom used to," because he knew she was going to. Hell he would get mad if he knew his ship had been put in the pot of a high stakes game. "Clearly that was the last time we talked, besides, I still carry the physical title for the 'Dawn,' so I'm never truly broke..."

She'd piece it together and then the Sith spat would hit the fan. Remy was actually a pretty good gambler and rarely ever got in over his head. The hustler was pretty confident about any bet he made, and would never bet his livelihood, or his daughter's, on a sabacc game. Sure the stakes were high, but the pay out only went to the risk takers. Remy took risks all the time.

Whiskey was poured, and Remy reached across to grab the deed again. The older Steele wasn't getting around like he used to. The Galaxy was a more dangerous place, so work was hard to come by for smugglers as well. The move made sense, and so he acted. Reaching into his coat he pulled out a couple more cigars, snipped the tips, and offers one to Lizzy.

"You know I don't make bets in games I can't win..."

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Remy Steele"]

Dark eyes flashed dangerously at Remy and teeth clinched as he explained things in his sweet talking way. How dare the man make the comparison to her mother, though it was a bit true. Alright, a lot. They both were born fiery Corellisi.

"I don't huff unless I've got good reason to and this is one of those times, Dad," the younger Steele exclaimed in a controlled yet angry voice as they were in public, then she took a couple of calming breaths before continuing.

"You just can't go using the 'Dawn as collateral for your gambling ventures even if you don't make bets you can't win… No one is perfect. What if you hadn't won, huh? We'd both be on the street. Times have been real tough lately. Don't make them any tougher, please. I just really need some stability for a change, ya know."

Eliza took her father's shot glass and poured herself a double from the bottle sitting on the table, then tossed back the whiskey like it was water. The offered cigar was taken with a nod of thanks; one of the vices the father and daughter shared in from time to time.

"Okay, so now what's you grand plan, hmm?"

 

[Judah Lesan]

"But I didn't lose, so fine... I'll promise to play it safe from now on when it comes to your baby..." Remy conceded that one.

The ship really was their livelihood, but Remy also sometimes forgot that it was a lot more to Lizzy than that. She'd really made the ship hers. That's why Remy just puffed on his cigar and took the verbal punishment his daughter was giving him. She just needed to vent her frustration and then she'd be better about it. Seeing as Remy DIDN"T lose, Lizzy could really only be mad that he made the bet without her knowing. At least they had some stability with the Afterburner now.

"Well, now that I own the place, I was thinking of fixing it up. I mean really, the guy who had it before me didn't go a good job. Have you seen the bugs that crawl out of the walls when you're... um nevermind... Needless to say, the back rooms need an overhaul, and I was thinking I'd move into the upstairs apartment. Ya know, maybe give you your space and all, a lot more than I even do now."

Remy reached into the other pocket of his bomber jacket, and pulled out the flimsiplast deed for the "Dawn." Setting it on the table he looked to his daughter. He knew that if he was going to take care of the Afterburner, he really wasn't going to be able to help with the "Dawn" as much. Remy also knew he wouldn't be taking it out as much either. It was time to make an offer he should have made a while ago.

"I might be stuck here for a while you know, and you've been taking care of the ol'girl while I've been locked up anyway. She's more yours than mine as it is. What do you think about me signing my half over to you entirely. You focus on smuggling jobs, using this place as your base, and I can make sure this side of the business is taken care of. We'd still be a team, but just in a different way."

The last sentence was more for him that it was for Lizzy.

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Remy Steele"]

Eliza took a few good puffs off the Sweet Theed that her father had given her. It was an unhealthy habit to get into, but oh did she enjoy this particular brand of cigar on occasion. While doing so, the fiery Corellisi listened more calmly to what Remy had to say to her. What the salty dog was saying made sense, both business wise and personal. And most of all, the two Steeles would still be together for they were all the family each other had.

"Thanks, Dad. The Dawn means a lot to me as you do. I think your plan makes perfect sense, all of it. I'll even help when I'm not out making runs… though, I hope to be more busy as I've made some new connections through the Underground for jobs." That latter point made with a quiet voice.

"So are you gonna need some credits for the refurb? I got a little extra I can put into the business, if you do."

 

[Judah Lesan]

"Well, I think I might need a little help, but not too much."

The old dog was never going to admit to his daughter that he needed her help on the project. All his assets would be tied up in the bar, but that wasn't so bad. All he needed was to start turning a good profit and the bar would more than pay for itself. He won it after all, so it wasn't like he had any credits in it now... well aside from all the booze he had bought over the years.

About that time is when the underground comment hit him. He wasn't happy, but what was he gonna do. Anything he said would get the, "Dad, I'm a big girl now," speech, and he really didn't want that right now. This was a good moment for the two of them, and he didn't want to ruin it. Instead he poured another round of whiskey and downed it like water.

"Just try to stay safe out there, Lizzy."

In other words, you're all I have anymore, and I can't stand the thought of burying a daughter. She was supposed to bury him after all. That was the way the world was supposed to work.

"What kind of gigs are you running with them, and do they need a place to provide cover, or even launder credits?"

Yup even upstanding organizations needed to launder credits at times. Remy was no stranger to that aspect of the smuggling business.

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Remy Steele"]

"I always stay safe… It's the others that make it not so," Eliza stated knowingly, then tipped back another shot of her father's fine whiskey. Good thing she had her big walking carpet covering her six nowadays. Rahl was dutiful, loyal, and even had a dry sense of humor. The sandy brown Wookiee had been a great asset to bring aboard the 'Dawn.

A puff off her cigar, then she answered Remy about the particulars of this new arrangement with the Underground. "Mainly it's working with like-minded individuals all looking to make a honest living… Well almost honest," the fiery Corellisi smirked with a chuckle, then went on. "The smuggling jobs are somewhat risky, but very well paying. My first with the Underground is a bacta run with another smuggler. We'll see… As for using the Afterburner as an asset, I'm not sure. [member="Jorus Merrill"] is the man to talk to about that. He seems to be the head honcho of the group."

The cantina was starting to get busy. After all it was happy hour. Now to keep her old man on track. "So pops, what improvements are on the top of your "to do" list for this place?"

 

[Judah Lesan]

"This Merrill guy, easy to get a hold of?"

Remy didn't really care if it was easy or not. He had resources and contacts just like any smuggler out there. The salty dog just wanted to know what he was going to have to do to find out. There was business to be had with the right connections, and if this group needed a shadow port of sorts, Remy could give them one. Besides Ord Mantell was always a target for someone in the galaxy. It was only a matter of time.

"Well for starters you should have seen that blonde freak when a cockroach crawled through the shower. Kinda killed the mood and that bug ruined what was going to be a really.... oh right.... you don't like hearing about that stuff."

There was a good puff of the cigar taken.

"We have the entire back to redo, think I'll swap out some of the brew on tap because the options are getting stale. Private meeting rooms for less than legal business are needed, and apparently there is the apartment upstairs which needs a lot of work, but would be livable. From there the kitchen in the back needs an overhaul, and we can start selling decent bar food for a change. Make this place more attractive to new business while keeping the charm it has for us regulars."

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Remy Steele"]

Eliza shrugged. "I got Merrill's comm number on the ship. I've only meet the fellow once. Seemed decent enough for a spacer. Mostly I just check the board where he lists the jobs and their particulars. I haven't really made friendly with him yet… Prolly should."

Why oh why did her father keep going there. The younger Steele covered her ears like "I'm not listening" when Remy started in on his earlier activities with Blondie. Another shot was poured and downed. It might just take the whole bottle to get that knowledge out of her mind.

"Those plans sound good, pops. I did try a new ale while out in Mando space… Circle Green I believe is the name. It's pretty good and brewed locally on Mandalore by [member="Nolan Detta"] and his brother."

 

[Judah Lesan]

"I've heard of the brew, and if you like, then that's all I need to know."

Remy stretched and then slid out of the bench. There was a lot of work to do if he was going to get the bar running the way he wanted it to. Starting with giving Charlie a promotion to head manager.

"Well Lizzy, I better get to work on this thing. Oh tell Charlie he's the manager now. He's got a good sniffer when it comes to people. I'll stick to the books, and he can deal with the people."

++++++

The project took several weeks to get done with the renovations, but before long everything was complete. The once guttery looking watering hole had changed just enough to be the kind of place the regulars still loved, but others frequented as well. It was the beer battered fries, he was convinced, well that and the fact the place was well loved and taken care of. It was the night of their grand opening, and Remy was making some last minute checks before opening the doors. The staff were pushed harder than they had in a while, but that was because of the deadline. Lizzy would be back soon, and he couldn't wait to see what she thought of all the changes.

[member="Eliza Steele"]