Pax Cantina [Ask]

[Jen]

[Some Music]​

​

Had it not been for the cold swift winds and noise from the people that inhabited the streets of the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa, the scene would have been tranquil. As if illustrated by a painters brush, yellow strokes of light fell from newly installed neon signs that hung above one of the areas new establishments, the light illuminating the faceless masses as they passed in front of the cantina. The light reflecting in the visor of a Hunter, the hood of a speeder and a silver protocol droid turned golden for a few melancholic moments as it stumbled past the neon.

The luxurious establishment in question was known as Pax, an eatery owned by an ancient human named Charles. Despite being well past his prime, his life having spanned for over a couple of hundred years, he maintained a youthful appearance by undergoing periodic DNA mending surgery. Since the cantinas construction, various gangs had fought over the racketeering rights for the place.

In the end, after multiple brutal murders, the Broken Skull speeder gang had claimed the rights, ending the strife by dragging the corpse of one of their competitors through the streets, strapped by chain to one of their speeders.


The end of this month had signified that it was time for Charles to pay another protection fee and so the Broken Skulls had arrived at the eatery to claim their case of credits. The ordeal had went smoothly and now the group that had showed up was enjoying a meal and drink in the dim golden light of the establishment, their shapes sitting at the table nearest the bar of the mostly empty and exclusive eatery.

Among the broad shouldered speeder gang members, Jennifer, one of the more influential Broken Skull captains, sat. Her golden eyes lazily searching the room, bored by the untouched plate of food in front of her.

 

[John Ash]

Credits brought safety as well as trouble in Nar Shaddaa. People rose out of the gutters thanks to the currency only to be shot in the back for it. So when John had come into some credits not long ago, he was sure to keep it as much to himself as possible. He paid his information broker what was owed, which left him still 54 million credits up after cashing in a bounty recently. That was no small amount of credits and it could see John comfortable for the rest of his life if he was smart about how he spent it. But John didn't want to just live a comfortable life. No, he wanted to be active and productive. He never knew when he might lose all of it or need more. So he had been looking for something to invest into that would, hopefully, provide some sense of security if a slicer went after his funds.

It was for this reason that John now found himself at some cantina called Pax. The Black Market was the best way to acquire anything you might need on Nar Shaddaa, so long as you had a connection to it. John lived on the planet and took jobs for criminals more often than he would admit to legit clients, but those jobs always were done at an arms length. Last thing he needed was for one gang or another to take offense to him getting chummy with someone and come blasters ablazing after his hide. With no connection, he needed to make one for himself and an odd chance had arisen in light of this. One of the few, neutral criminals of the moon that John kept in contact with had spotted a potential solution to his problem. A woman matching the description of this [member="Jen"] that was whispered about from time to time was in the cantina he now found himself at. He just needed to find her and see if she could procure him what he needed.

John walked into Pax with his pistols strapped to his hips with his armor under his duster. He had forgone wearing his helmet, so his face was in full view. He didn't want to be mistaken for an easy mark, but he also didn't want to look hostile either. He studied the place over quickly. Typical rough crowd of Nar Shaddaa where gangs were fighting for territory. One of things he liked about his home's location, no gang fighting over the area. He spotted the woman that roughly matched the description on those playing card inspired bounties. Same ones he found himself on for no reason. Just meant he would never work for the Black Ties or any other group that Blonde person had ties with. He walked over to the table and said as he laid a holopad with the bounty pulled up on it, " You the person from this bounty? This Jen from a rival gang to the Black Ties."

 

[Jen]

The reaction was instantaneous and overwhelming in noise as the occupants of the table, with the exception of Jennifer, stood up as fast as possible. Glass and silverware crashed to the floor as the fierce looking gang members that had accompanied their road captain to the cantina drew disruptors and large vibro-knives mercilessly.

While Pax was as usual rather empty at these hours, the few conversations that had been muttered throughout the luxurious halls of the restaurant now fell quiet, as if all of them had come to a simultaneous pause at once. The wheezing, heavy breathing of the Devaronian that stood closest to John was the only noise heard for a moment, a moment that seemed to last forever.

“What’s it to you?” Jennifer finally answered, her voice kept calm as she grabbed an unscathed pack of cigarettes from the inner pockets of her leather jacket, lighting one while placing the cylinder between her lips.

She was in her mid-twenties. Her face gaunt and eyes devoid of emotion as if fatigued, dark circles apparent under them, standing in deep contrast to her pale skin. Stretching up her long neck several tattoos were visible, the sight of them only obscured by her shirt and stark white hair that was cut to a mid-neck length.

She continued to sit, leaned back in her chair as she finally took a drag from her cigarette, a cloud of smoke hovering towards the ceiling, the fingers of the thugs twitching at the triggers of their weapons, mean stares directed at John.

[member="John Ash"]​

 

[John Ash]

John glanced at the various touchy types around the room. All triggers had a finger on them, but none of them looked to be trained properly on how to use the things in their hands. Amateurs always compensated skill with numbers, and it was clear to see they lacked skill because they were all to take shots at a moments notice. A moment they likely wouldn't have gotten if John was here to be aggressive with the woman. He wouldn't even have showed his face like this, just rolled a couple of thermals and waited for the boom before moving in to finish off whoever survived. But here he was criticizing thugs on proper combat engagement when he wasn't here to show them the business end of his hostility. Lucky them.

The sound of the woman replying caught John's attention. He turned his gaze back to her idly once again as the holopad was left out with the bounty on it. Likely they thought he was here to claim it. He was a bounty hunter, but that was not the reason he had come. If he wanted her bounty then he wouldn't be giving her this chance to think of an escape plan. Instead he just placed his hands on his pistol grips as he moved over to the other side of the table from the woman. He studied her over as he did. Seemed roughly his age, perhaps younger, and she was clearly the rougher type. Those tattoos reflected that fact. Pale skin, gaunt face, dead eyes. A spice user? Maybe. The cigarette was a good enough sign of how possible that was. No matter what though, she was sitting here looking cooler under pressure than her boys were.

" What it is to me is credits being exchanged between me and you. If that is you in the bounty then we might have some business to discuss. If that isn't you then I will be on my way." John said as he pointed towards the holopad with one of his fingers without ever removing his hand from his pistol grip. He then motioned towards some of the thugs with guns and knives with his head as he added, " And tell your little kark boys to stand down. If I wanted anyone in here dead they would be already. Do we understand each other here?"

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

A rush of noise and yells went through the cantina when John’s hands moved towards his pistol grips, the whine of blasters being primed and the steps of boots heard as gang members moved to get a better shot. While none of the thugs present were super soldiers, the Broken Skulls still managed to be feared enough to control certain parts of the smuggler’s moon. A testament to their ferocity.

Jennifer ran a hand through her hair with a sigh as she took another glance at the mess her guards had made of the table, her eyes afterwards inspecting the holopad with mild curiosity. “Well would you look at that. It does look like me. So... Let us entertain the idea of being civilized noble poodoostains for a moment. And pretend that you didn’t just kark up my dinner or make a threat.” She replied.

A touch of irritation could be heard in her odd, melodious accented voice. It was obvious the man in front of her was of the rougher types as well, however while Jennifer could argue that he was brash for making such an abrupt entrance, she was certain the man was not a fool. If he wanted to get himself killed by initiating a gunfight there was other, much more faster ways of accomplishing such a feat.

“I won’t give you the whole ‘do-you-know-who-you’re-dealing-with’ poodoo. You can look at our cuts, but I would advise you that you talk with respect.” She said coldly, her amber eyes looking sharply at John as stood up from her seat and moved to sit at the bar instead. After having taken another drag from her cigarette and blown out another cloud of smoke, as well as having ordered a glass of whisky for herself, she waved her free hand at her fellow bikers, their weapons somewhat lowered, though they still keenly observed the bounty hunter. "So, Hot-Shot. What is so important that you're willing to risk your life to talk with me?"

[member="John Ash"]​

 

[John Ash]

The situation was going about as well as you would expect it would. The woman was acting like she was the queen of this little cantina, but she was calm and made her men stand down. Her attitude wasn't very far from the truth though knowing Nar Shaddaa. When a gang had a claim on a place as their territory, they owned it in all but name. She might as well be a queen here as far as her boys and rivals were concerned. But John wasn't from a gang and he wasn't from her little territory. She could bully around whoever she wanted, but she wouldn't be bullying him around. He couldn't afford to be. The weak got crushed on Nar Shaddaa, and he wasn't about to end up dead in a gutter on this forsaken moon.

John walked over to the counter following [member="Jen"] there. His hands left his pistol grips, but he kept them in full view with his duster held back by them. He leaned against the counter before he said, " Respect is something you earn, and you haven't earned mine yet." He ordered a whiskey on the rocks then added, " Also I wasn't the one who karked up your dinner. The cook did that. Did threaten you, but your boys sort of threatened me first. So we are even."

As his drink got to him, John said, " You able to get things through the black market? I'm in need of a few things and getting them legally takes too long. Good enough reason for me to come talk to you?" He picked up his glass as he finished speaking. He swirled the ice around the liquor slowly for a bit then took a drink of it. The woman had attitude, but who didn't on Nar Shaddaa? He certainly was a prime example of attitude.

 

[Jen]

She huffed at his remark about respect, to her the leather jacket she wore and the patch on its back meant respect, whether earned individually or not it was a yell to others to step off. However, this man looked at it differently. Silently she agreed somewhat, she had never really been a fan of uniforms herself.

“Business is a good excuse. Yeah.” She grinned somewhat, the tension somewhat evaporating in the room as their conversation. “I should be able to get whatever you’re looking for.” She took another long drag from her cigarette as she turned her gaze towards him, her right elbow resting on the counter and her chin on her hand. “I just need to know what it is.”

[member="John Ash"]​

 

[John Ash]

Seemed things were going to go somewhat smoothly here. That was a good sign as John set his glass down after the drink. Criminal types were not difficult to understand. They just came in some different types which made it difficult to read at first. She could have been one of the types to think they could do whatever they want. Those types were poor to buy or sell from. She also could have been the type that thought they were smarter than everyone else, which would lead to them trying to cheat you at every turn. That was the type she could prove to be, but she wasn't showing it currently. No, she was seeming more like the smart type of criminal. That type could be dangerous, but at least you could trust they would deliver on deals. They understood trust got you more credits in the long run than cheating out your clients.

John took another drink from his glass after she finished speaking. His request was going to be odd. He knew it yet he still was about to make it. As the glass touched the counter once more, he said, " Can you get your hands on a salvage yard, a workshop, and jawas? Equipment for a salvage yard and workshop as well. Maybe some salvage droids if you can't get any or many jawas." He waited to see what her reaction was after. He needed these things if he wanted to get his own business up and running. So if she thought it was a joke he was going to have to make it clear he wasn't. If she couldn't find them then he would have to find someone else who could. Hopefully though this [member="Jen"] did take him seriously and could. He didn't want to have to repeat this whole bar scene all over again.

 

[Jen]

“A workshop, huh.” She mumbled, a deadpan expression covering her gaunt face like it had throughout the whole conversation so far. It was clear that she either lacked sleep, or was in a mental state that did not allow her for much smiling. However, despite all of this her voice was noticeable not as cold as it had been moments ago now that she knew John meant business.

Despite not knowing what a Jawa was, Jennifer was certain it would be possible to get what the bounty hunter requested. After all, Jennifer was the owner and creator of The Hydian Way, an online black market with its user base spread among numerous star systems. With such a tool, it was possible to get your hands on all that good stuff that was not sold openly at your local corner stores. Obviously, she rarely looked at what was sold on the site herself due to its vile content. Nevertheless, whatever Jawas were was probably sold on it as well.

Turning back towards the bar, Jennifer dropped her burnt out cigarette stub into the almost empty glass of whisky, extinguishing it. “Wouldn’t be a problem, as long as you have the credit to front the purchases. Wouldn’t be inexpensive you know.” She stated, grabbing a pair of perfectly round sunglasses from her pocket and placing them fashionably on the bridge of her nose. Her eyes resting on him for a couple of seconds before she spoke again. “What’s your name?”

[member="John Ash"]​

 

[John Ash]

Credits up front she said. What did she think he was some farm boy from Lothal that didn't know that little racket? John frowned to [member="Jen"] as she mentioned that and took another drink from his glass of whiskey, which was almost out by this point. It wasn't unexpected though that she might try something like this. It was Nar Shaddaa and one of the gangs on the moon after all. He just didn't think she would try to go for such a thing right away. Even if it wasn't a ploy to take his credits and run, he still didn't trust her or the situation enough to go for such a thing. You never paid for any thing up front. You didn't even do it with legit businesses. Especially not with legit businesses.

" No deal. I will pay as it is acquired. Don't trust you and there is nothing stopping you from taking the credits then running." John said to her as he slowly rotated the glass around on the counter top. " As it is acquired or I walk right here, right now."

The woman seemed to be finished up with the counter and had even put her cigarette out in her nearly empty glass. John downed the last of his whiskey as she asked him for his name. He glanced over at her and her round sunglasses after. His name? Should he give her his real one or just use one of his aliases? Normally he would just go with one of his false names, but he would need his real name on any deed that was acquired for places. Nar Shaddaa might not be as particular on that sort of thing, but if he expected to do much business outside of hutt space then he would need some legal proof of ownership. The real credits were outside of criminal space too. He frowned a bit as he thought it over, then just pushed himself off of the counter as well.

" Name is John Ash." John said as he got another look at the woman. She still looked like she could use a good night's sleep, but she was alert enough. " How about I take you out to a real meal and we can discuss any further details? Also to make up that other meal that got ruined."

 

[Jen]

She half shrugged as he talked about walking, a faint, almost invisible smile playing on her face for a second. Soon enough however, the expression was pushed aside, her eyes observing him from behind the round mirrored glasses of hers as he stated his name. It sounded familiar.

She wasn’t sure why it was familiar, but to solve the itch that had erupted at the mention of his name and perhaps almost by instinct as well, she dug a hand into her pocket and pulled out a datapad, her long fingers swiping elegantly across it as this John Ash talked.

Soon enough, the bounty on the man was discovered and for the first time that night, a genuine chuckle was heard from Jennifer. Coincidentally, she laughed just when he was done talking. “Now I get it, man. That’s hilarious.” She mumbled at herself as she shook her head, grinning as she turned towards one of the thugs by the tables behind her, their laughter suddenly heard as well, despite the fact that they had little reason to laugh.

Obviously irritated by her co-workers joining in on her amusement her features grew cold quick, her gaze turning back towards John to answer his question, most of all intending to leave the pretend posh place they currently stood in: “You do owe me that, so sure, where? Also, do you have your own speeder?”

[member="John Ash"]​

 

[John Ash]

The woman's laughter was met with a raised eye brow. What was so funny for her? John didn't know what it was other than something on the holopad she had pulled out, since he had said nothing entertaining at the time. Unless the joke was about him asking her out to a meal to try and get a change of scenery for their chat. He wasn't an ugly guy, so that made no sense. It became more obvious that it was the holopad as well when she finally agreed and asked him some questions. He straightened out his duster as he hide his pistols back behind it. There was no need for them anymore by this point in the meeting.

" I do have my own speeder. Can seat two." John said as he looked to [member="Jen"] . " For the place, do you prefer fancy or hole-in-the-wall? I might have an option for both."

John stood there and waited for her to answer. Her goons seemed a bit on edge still after her shift from laughing to cold attitude. It also seemed to throw them off as well that their boss had agreed to a dinner with some guy they didn't know. Seemed this was not a typical course of action for her. Should he be worried about the general mood of things after all? He wasn't sure but he did know that it was better to keep things from turning violent right now. He did want to get what he was looking for without getting shot in the process.

" Care to join me on my speeder when we go?" John asked her as he was waiting.

 

[Jen]

“Just something that tastes good, dude...” Jen replied somewhat absentmindedly as she checked a last few bits and pieces on her datapad before she put it back into her pocket. If she had to be honest with herself, she was still not entirely sure if she was able to trust the bounty hunter in front of her. It was few people who showed up in the manner this person had, and after a few minutes conversation asked to go somewhere else to eat. The whole thing was making all sorts of warning signals rattle. But for now, they were pushed aside.

“You just show the way, I’ll follow you on my own speeder.” Jennifer said as she walked past him out of the cantina after having said goodbye to Charles, the owner of Pax. The cold streets of Nar Shaddaa greeted them, it had just rained and the neon billboards that mounted the behemoth skyscrapers were reflected in the puddles that had formed on the concrete ground she stepped on.

Just besides the entrance to Pax, a row of heavily customized speeders were placed, obviously the property of the Broken Skulls judging both from the decals placed on them but also due to the fact that Jennifer’s fellow bikers approached them after she had given some of them commands to head on to other errands. Leaving only three of them to stay behind with her.

Soon enough Jennifer had approached her own speeder, a beautifully crafted and heavily modified black Joben T-85. Only half a minutes preparation was needed before she was ready, a half-helmet that had been hanging from her speeder’s handlebars now covering the top head and a pair of gloves pulled over her fingers. “Don’t worry, Johnny Boy. These guys.” She said as she lazily gesutred at the three remaining Broken Skulls while she pulled on the last glove: “Won’t join us, but stay close at hand. For our safety you know...” She continued, her sunglasses remaining on her gaunt face as her amber eyes inspected John's speeder.

[member="John Ash"]​

 

[John Ash]

The woman was not very helpful in figuring out where to eat. The whole point of John asking her where she would rather eat at was to gauge her tastes, yet she completely skipped over that and opted out for just saying something that tastes good. He hated that kind of attitude from people. Either you make a choice or you don't. This just passing the choice onto others was annoying. But it didn't matter now. He was just going to go somewhere he would enjoy eating and the woman could just deal with it. It was her own fault if she didn't like the place for not making a choice.

The offer to join John on his speeder didn't seem to be attractive for her. It didn't bother him either way though. He went over to his own speeder and got it going. It didn't look fancy but it was maintained and built to handle the stress of higher speeds. It was surprising how often people pushed their speeders too hard and the engine blow mid ride. Killed more than a few at the race tracks on the moon. He got on and began to drive to this nicer diner in a part of town with less issues with crime. It was not lacking in criminal activity as this was Nar Shaddaa, but it was an ignorable amount. He parked around back and then got off. He eyed the "escorts" that had joined them. Typical gang tactic. Strength in numbers. At least they were going to stay out of the way to a degree.

" They can just go home then. The least safe thing here is the shellfish soup. You won't be able to leave the diner for hours after." John said as he locked his speeder down. He then began to head inside as he said, " This shouldn't take too long and then you can go about the rest of your day."

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

Jennifer followed him inside after having parked and locked her own speeder. The thugs had went ahead of her, having scanned the establishment they had entered with their eyes as if judging if it was safe or not. Soon after they left to guard their speeders, assuming the restaurant to be lacking in ambushes. Obviously, Jennifer had been in this part of town before, nevertheless it was a place she seldom visited and the restaurant in question was not exactly one of her usual spots either. She had never even known of its existence until now. It was obvious from the judgmental glances she got from the guests and waiters inside that they were not exactly used to the underground type of fashion she was wearing.

With a faint frown placed on her pale features she crossed her arms, waiting for the two to get seated. “Didn’t know such quiet places even existed on Nar Shaddaa...”

[member="John Ash"]

 

[John Ash]

The dinner was much as one might expect one to look on the inside as a dinner on Coruscant or Ord Mantell. John had come here with his father many times in the past, and nearly regularly after his father's death. The workers and other regulars recognized him instantly, but knew better than to interrupt him when he was with someone else. He often would come here with a client to work out a job in a more or less neutral environment. A few of them even seemed to recognize [member="Jen"] which lead to some of the looks. John led the two of them to his usual table set off in its own little corner. He motioned for Jen to take a seat on one side before he sat on the side across from it.

After the two of them had gotten settled in, John said, " They serve beers, logars, and ales here if you want any. Look over the menu and order whatever you want. I'll pay. After we can get back to business." John just sat back in a relaxed way, although it was clear he was still alert regardless. He knew the menu inside and out already so there was no point in him reading through it. The other customers seemed to have gone back about their business by this point and had mostly forgotten about the two. That was good. This place was quiet but it was still Nar Shaddaa. If anyone crossed the wrong person this nice little dinner might get destroyed in the cross fire. John didn't want that. He wasn't a very sentimental man so this dinner was one of the few places he wanted to keep around for the memories of his father.

After a minute or two one of the servers finally came over. It was a slightly plump mirellian woman wearing an actually clean waitress outfit. She looked at the two with a nervous smile on her face and asked in a slightly shaky voice, " W-what c-can I get-t you?" John gave her a slight smile as he looked at her. He said, " Beer, imported, and the daily special." With that done it was now his not so typical guests turn. Hopefully things went well enough that the both of them could be on their ways soon.