New Commencounters

[Darben Skirae]

[member="Eddak Manod"]

With Mia at the helm, the ship came out of lightspeed in the vicinity of Pzob. Darben had been told about this 'Eddak', and that he would be beefing up the orbital defenses and such for Commenor. That was about all he knew, so he thought he might as well meet them to learn more about them. Mia landed the shuttle down into the space port, where they were greeted by a guard.

"I am Minister Darben Skirae. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of a..." he pulled out his datapad and looked it over. "Eddak Manod?" he asked. He had no idea of the position of this man on the planet.

Renla followed along with Mia behind. Renla was in her late teens by now, and unlike what he had heard of friends that had kids in teens, she wasn't bad. Although she did get distracted quite a lot. "Stay near. You too, Mia, the ship will be fine." She shrugged her shoulders and fully disembarked off the ramp of the shuttle.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


The trooper stared at the unknown man as he asked to see Eddak, even attempting a passive look at his datapad if he could catch a glimpse. "What business do you have with King Eddak?" he asked, not bothering to ask how he knew of him, as everyone in Galderra knew of him. "I can take you to see him, but I'd like to know why you need to see him."

 

[Darben Skirae]

Darben Skirae was surprised to hear that. King? He glanced back at Mia, who shrugged. Then he turned back to the trooper. "We, uh...I'm a Minister of Commenor, and heard he is giving us some aid. I thought this would be an opportune time to meet with a possible benefactor of Commenor." For such deals like this were rarely ever one sided. Surely Commenor was giving something in return, and he wanted to see what exactly that was. Perhaps even learn more of the deal, and see if he could sweeten it for both sides, if he could. For as a merchant, he usually did that.

[member="Eddak Manod"]

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


The Trooper stood there, silent for a moment as he pondered the situation. He looked the man up and down to give a quick security check and leaned to the side to look at the mans company. He nodded, "Alright, give ne a tic." He turned around and radiod over his internal commlink, 'Hey, this is L T Bradley, PG-1104. Got some outsiders wanting to see Eddak, supposedly some sort of rep from Commenor. No appointment. But they look clean. Do we got a location?'. 'Hey L T, yeah Eddaks havin' a party in the Tavern again'. 'Roger that, thanks'. The troopers mic for the helmets external speaker was off, so Darben didn't hear the conversation.

The Trooper turned back around and gave the man a single nod before angling his body around, pointing out the main entrance of the terminal. "King Eddak is in the local Tavern. If you head out the main exit, just follow the main road into town. On your right you'll see a sign that says Cantina. Trust me, you can't miss it. Behave yourselves, you put the King down in public it won't look good for you."

 

[Darben Skirae]

A tavern? Darben liked taverns, they were like bars. And bars meant drinking. But, that also meant...He glanced back to Renla. This was unknown territory, and he didn't want to leave her on the ship. Then he recalled how Kay had spoken of the fact that one day Renla would start drinking herself. A day he did not want to see. "Make sure I don't drink, okay?" he asked Mia, and she nodded. Then he turned back to the guard. "I'll be on my best behavior, as will my companions here."

He started on his way to find the tavern that [member="Eddak Manod"] was in, and as they reached it, he opened the door and stepped inside of the tavern. Already he had the taste for a refreshing drink, or any kind of drink, but he also wanted to make a good impression on Renla as well.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


Darben wouldn't recognize him, but Eddak was at the bar, drinking some of his favorite with two other companions. For Eddak, they were his military advisors. For Darben, they were strangers. Eddak was having a merry break from his chorely duties of being King and resting a bit, which seemed to be in some sort of celebration. There was light music coming from the corner of the tavern, a well known bard of the tavern. The people looked like they were ready to get up and beat any foreigner who came through the door - typically drunken ruffians. But they seemed to be in a positive mood as they relaxed, in fact they seemed harmless by their behavior. Eddak stopped his laughter for a moment as he heard a message come up over his commlink. "Wussat? I've got a visitor? Didn't you tell them to schedule a meeting?" Eddak turned around and grinned at the new fellow that just walked into the door. "Oh, alright, a Commenor rep. No ID though? You coulda just let a stranger get into point blank range of me ya nitwits." Eddak opened up into another laugh as his advisors chuckled themselves. Eddak stood up from the bar stool and walked over to Darben, taking a big gulp from his large mug. "Aaaah," Eddak exhaled as he finished his gulp, walking over to Darben, but his drink and also his breath did not smell like alcohol.... it smelled sweet. If Darben looked at the liquid it would seem ....fizzy. "'Hoy. Name's King Eddak," he reached his hand out, ready to shake, "What's got you all the way out here to Pzob?"

 

[Darben Skirae]

Darben Skirae looked around for [member="Eddak Manod"], though it was hard not being able to recognize them. The music told him this must be the place, as well as the name on the outside. He did not notice the man that grinned towards him, talking on their comm link. "Stay by me, okay?" he asked, turning to face Renla. She nodded, and she did look like she was unsure about this place as he thought she would be. For she had never been in a bar, or a tavern. Darben kept her close, a hand on her shoulder.

He took notice of someone approaching, and suspected they were either a drunk, or whom they were looking for. It seemed it was in fact the latter, as they gave their name. "Darben Skirae" he answered back, shaking the given hand. "I came to perhaps meet you, and ask about business. Such as the business you have with Commenor? I wasn't given too many details...It's of my own accord that I wish to know" he added at the end.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


Eddak gave the man a smile as he finished the handshake, taking back his hand. "My business with Commenor is my business and the royal families business. What I can tell you is I, from time to time, find where I can help them and offer service and supplies. Was there anything specific you wanted to know?" Eddak turned around and gave a hand gesture for his advisors to take a break for a moment, offering Darben a seat, "Come on, ya gotta be tired from the journey. Take a seat, have a drink. Drinks are on me." He said as he took another drink of his sweet fizzy drink.

 

[Darben Skirae]

"Well, as Minister of Trade, I thought if I knew a bit of what this business it, I could potentially sweeten the deal...but if it's out of kindness, I guess it isn't really a deal" he murmured. When he was offered a drink and a seat by [member="Eddak Manod"], he gladly took the seat, but he didn't exactly feel like having a drink. "Uh, no thanks...Unless you have something non-alcoholic?" he then asked, as while he did smell the drink as sweet and saw it fizzy, he still didn't know if it was alcoholic or not. "Don't want to get drunk in front of, um..." He gestured to Renla, who was looking about now.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


Eddak listened to him intently with a straight face and nodded as he sat down with him, observing his companion so as not to come to close to them, giving them space. But when he said non-alcoholic, Eddak suddenly burst into laughter. "Hah, non-alcoholic! My good man, Darben, half the people of Pzob drink Moogan Tea. Just like how we've got an imperial look to our military, we have Moogan Tea. The old trooper armor and the tea came from the old Empire Bunker, now part of the Fort. Just like the weapons and armor helped us survive, so did the moogan tea, and we kept in in our society. Bartender! Get me a mug of my delicious blend of moogan! Here, here!" The tavern roared with a followed here, here right back to Eddak. The Tavern was a very welcoming place. The bartender slid a large mug, almost twice as big as Darbens hand, across the bar and in front of him. "I can tell you the public business we do is trade goods. Import and Export. Pzob has wood and fuel... and some iron deposits. Of course stone, but that's literally it. The farmland isn't what we'd like it to be, either. We need building materials and food, and we export Deuterium fuel. That's all the legal business we do."

 

[Darben Skirae]

Darben Skirae looked at the drink again. That was tea? "Well...might as well give it a try." He put out his hand to catch the mug, his hand almost taken with it by how large it was. How was he going to lift this? He took it in both hands, and lifted it. And found himself very surprised, it was not like Kay's tea. However, he did enjoy Kay's too more, for the fizziness was something he did not wholly enjoy. After he put it down, he turned to the bartender. "Um...two more? And can one be a bit small for her?" he asked, signaling toward his adopted daughter, Renla.

As he heard this, he grew a grin. "Well...perhaps for whatever business you organized with Lady Kay, if she hasn't already...I'm sure I can organize something in return, perhaps?" He wanted to get something out of this meeting with [member="Eddak Manod"], and saw opportunity. If he saw opportunity, he took that opportunity.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


Eddak didn't have the brightest smile to Darbens reaction, but it was acceptable. Of course, not everyone enjoyed the tea, there were those who still preferred the alcohol. The bartender obliged and sat two galaxy-standard glasses on the bar and filled them with moogan tea. The mug was made of a wood found on Pzob, and was only large so that it could be lined with metal to help keep the chill, but also because since it was tea, it was far cheaper than alcohol, but you could still get a lot of it before you spent enough for a mug of alcohol. Eddak stared at the man as he thought to himself, as Darben handled the glasses for his companions. Noticing the young girl he figured the man could use a hand. "Darben, right? I can offer you an opportunity to set up a vendor stall in my new location that I plan on to bring in tourists galore. Ya look like a trader, yeah? I'll check with Queen Kay on your credentials, and if all works out you can have the stall, no down payment. Just rental fees. Other than that, I don't think you've got anything I'm interested in. I've got work here in Galderra that I can't ignore, and I don't look for personal benefit any longer; everything is now about my people. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. I'll see what I can do. Galderra is a very welcoming place. Respect the people and they'll respect you right back."

 

[Darben Skirae]

Darben put his mug down onto the bar and handed Renla her mug, while Mia reached over his shoulder to get hers. She took a drink, and looked satisfied enough to continue drinking. Darben turned his attention back to [member="Eddak Manod"] as he spoke. "Yes, Darben. It's..." He had thought about expanding his business, which was basically an emporium for tourists. Perhaps this would be his first opportunity. "I run a business, a small one that goes along the same lines of tourism...an expansion of it would be nice, though."

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


"When the place is up and ready, I'll let you know. You'll be handed over to the manager of the place then to get ya situated. Better get some good business in," he grinned. If Darben brought in business it would mean great possibilities for both of them. "For the mean time, I mean you could set up a small stall in Pzobs local marketplace. We don't really charge for setting up a stall. You can lay out a carpet and sit there with your stuff, or build or have built a little wooden stand. It's a little something extra for the locals other than the standard shops. If you want a shop though, that's talk for another time." Eddak sipped on his tea once more and pondered a thought, "Hey, if you don't mind my asking.... if that's your family, why did you bring them all the way out here? You got a place you can settle down?"

 

[Darben Skirae]

"Just so you know, I won't be able to manage it myself. I can come by time to time, but can't stay" he said quickly, as he did have other tasks, such as being a Minister, so that meant organizing trade deals and such. He drank some of the tea in the mug, he was starting to grow a taste for it, but not as much as he did for alcohol. Still, it did at least taste somewhat nice. "I think it can be a thing, however" he said to [member="Eddak Manod"].

He looked back to Renla who seemed quite fine with being in a tavern, something he did not expect. "I bring her around everywhere, though Mia is not family. She's my bodyguard."

"And a good one at that" she muttered, purposefully loud enough for them to hear before going back to drinking. "Yes, she has turned out to be a good bodyguard...we do have a place to settle down at, though, I do have a home back on Commenor. I like to keep Renla close, however. Because the last time I didn't..." He turned away and went for another drink.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


Eddak leaned back just a smidge and reached out, patting Darben on the shoulder. "No need. I understand. I lost my lover to a pirate who used to plague the town for quite a few generations... I finally got him back, made it all stop... but it didn't fill the void." He pulled his hand back and took a quick drink of his tea, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a breath. "You can run your stall, or the future vendor spot however ya want. Just as long as the renter fees for the vender get paid, and your stall doesn't cause any problems. Like I said, the people here are good. Might even help you out a bit. And, sorry for my pesterin' question'."

 

[Darben Skirae]

Darben grimaced upon hearing that, he had not lost Renla. But, he had been very, very close to it. Multiple times. He couldn't think of how he would be if he had lost her. But thankfully, for the both of them the conversation's subject moved on. "Yes...I'm sure I could hire someone, perhaps? Whatever way I do it, I'll be sure to pay. I get enough credits as it is, anyway so I should be able to." He paused for a long moment, before drinking some more, than speaking again to [member="Eddak Manod"]. "So, that's business settled then, I guess..." Somehow, he had managed something out of it for his own benefit, something he had not expected to get done.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Darben Skirae"]


Eddak turned his head to look at the bartender, nodding his head upwards to get his attention. His hand twisted as it formed the shape of holding a drink, a motion Darben probably didn't understand. After, he looked back to Darben, "Yep, sounds good to me. Was that all you came for? Gotta say, I respect that you came here to talk instead of sending me a message over the holonet. Might not have offered you anything, no offense. There's always someone out there to stab ya in the back, ya know?" As the bartender came back, he placed a can on the bar, and Eddak picked it up. "Hey," Eddak said to Darben, tossing him the can. He smiled and bit his lower lip, eyes widening as he nodded, "That's the good stuff, my personal brew." He made a clicking sound in one corner of his mouth with a wink, implying the generic can with no label was Moogan Tea, but a special blend only made for Eddak... which would end up being nothing but extremely cold to the touch and extra sweetened. "Take care of yourself, you hear?"

 

[Darben Skirae]

Darben shrugged, drinking the last of the tea inside the mug. "I guess you could say that it is all. Not what I expected, but something...thanks" he said, then he stood to leave. But not before turning to see a can coming for him, which he made a catch for. It slipped from his hands, only to be caught by Mia. "Butter fingers" she mockingly said, then ushered Renla outside. Before Darben left, he gave a thanked [member="Eddak Manod"] for his time, and the special brew before leaving the tavern, and heading for the Commenori shuttle.