Picture yourself in a boat on a River

[Victoria Treadway]

It had not taken the amount of courage she thought it would. She simply got up out of bed, took her credit chit and some clothes that she bought with the wages she earned, and got on a transport to Nar Shaddaa.

She had heard many things about this place, most how easy it was to get lost.

Discouraged with the galaxy and her life Victoria decided to opt out on all of it. She was an orphan and she wouldn't be bartered to [member="Ember Rekali"] by her cousin for anything. Yeah the man seemed nice from what Claire said but she wasn't ready to belong to someone else's family she had a family.

A sister Claire. Claire, the success one that traveled and partied and seemed to accept everything with a smile. The one that no matter how hard she tried she would never be a Claire. She stood behind that counter smiling, fetching, and attending and found no joy in any of it. She felt stuck, she felt cheated of a life that she would never have.


She walked off that transport thinking she had made the only decision left to her. As she stood there she looked out at the sea of lights and for the first time in her life whatever she did next was on her. She wanted a drink, something that would cool her anger, something to help her forget all the reasons that she had left home.

Find some friends of her own.

Find a place to live.

And be someone other than Victoria, sister to Claire.

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

Behemoth skyscrapers stretched eagerly towards the sky of the smog-filled ecumenopolis that was Nar Shaddaa. As if the buildings themselves, tapered in flashy neon lights, hoped to escape from the vulgar brutality and depravity that inhabited the city planet. The story often went that the planet was Coruscants’ dark twin, rivaled by none in the destruction it had suffered from millennia of abuse by the hand of Hutt ambition.

As the saying went: All is found on Nar Shaddaa, though some things are better left lost.

Many settled on Nar Shaddaa for that exact purpose, to be left lost and alone. From the stretches of villainy that inhabited the filth-ridden streets, many endured their bitter excuse of a life by resorting to a life style that involved forgetting you were even alive to begin with.


In the Undercity of Nar Shaddaa, a group of younger people were preparing for such a night in a smaller establishment that was owned by broad shouldered human with a cheap plastic-pink cybernetic arm. To most, he was simply known as Plastic, but his real name was Andriav Pratchinsko. He had inherited the cantina from his father who had aptly named it Losers Bar, a name that could potentially very well fit its patrons judging from their depressed expressions.

He was now the bar keep and was watching the young group with a smile. They were frequent customers like most of the other patrons, however, considering it had been payday for the half of the group that were able to keep normal jobs, there were no depressive faces to be found among the group. Their hysterical laughter and loud behavior heard throughout the cantina as they sat and stood around a table, drinking, smoking and talking.

“Yo Nick, tell her about the thing you found yesterday.” A boy that couldn’t be more than sixteen years old yelled encouragingly to an older member of the group, both of them sipping from cheap beer cans by the table they all surrounded.

Nick seemed uncertain at first, but after a few pushes, threats and encouraging pleases from various members of the group he finally budged, looking towards one of the few girls in the group. She sat in a white tank top, her fingers, arms, shoulders and neck heavily tattooed, many of the symbols, like the ravens on her shoulders being of criminal syndicate or biker gang origin. She looked with a raised brow towards Nick as she took a puff from the cigarette that dangled between her fingers as he started to talk.

“Well... I tried to do as you told me, Jen. And used the wireless thing to get into the network. I got the Yoda Burgers down the street to print out hundred orders for puff-cakes. They freaked the kark out! I even got to keep the cakes! Right Britt?” He said, a hint of pride heard in his voice as he looked back towards the younger boy who was supposedly called Britt, while simultaneously trying to keep an eye on the girl's (Jen's) reaction.

She was silent for a while, glancing slowly between the members of the group before she slowly stood, a quiet sigh and laughter heard from her. This in turn inspired a sea of chuckles from the group as they lovingly started to tease Nick, the boy obviously not having been able to impress the girl called Jen.

She moved up towards the bar of the cantina, not a long way away from the table where the group had begun to talk about other matters. “Hey Andri, a whiskey re-fill. With cubes if you have it." She muttered at the barkeep, her amber eyes turning towards the door as she heard it open…

[member="Victoria Treadway"]​

 

[Victoria Treadway]

A cantina so this was what one of them really looked like Tori couldn't help but feel a bit excited, and naive. She couldn't remember all of the hard times her family had before the good times, her mind had blocked it all out.

So the adventure of stepping into a place that had been forbidden was like offering chocolate to a baby, she was going to take it. She stepped inside fresh faced for certain and looked around. It was a bit dark, she had to squint to really see at first. As she stood lingering someone pushed her from behind "Move it you're blocking the door"

She nodded, "sorry" she whispered. She still needed a drink, with a hint of caution in her step she moved towards the bar. She looked at everyone, who did not look at her, and those that did look at her gave her chills of warning down her spine.

"Ale please" She liked the taste of ale, and if it was cold all the better.

How was she ever going to fit in, how was she ever going to look like she belonged here. How would she forget everything that made her run.

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

The pink cybernetic plastic arm pushed the glass back across the table, the ice cubes that had been placed in the drink hitting the sides of the glass with gratifying plings, the golden liquor swinging back and forth.

“Hey, thanks man.” Jennifer said to Andriav, the bartender, grabbing the glass and taking a sip from the whiskey, a sigh of relaxation heard from her afterwards. The young slicer had spotted the other girl walking into Losers Bar, she didn’t recognize her, but that was the case with almost everyone here on Nar’Shaddaa. After all, it is pretty hard of keeping track of over a trillion people.

Nevertheless, the clientele of Losers Bar was usually from the general area as the bar was one of the hidden ones only locals knew about, so the appearance of a new face was always interesting. As Victoria approached the bar, Jennifer didn’t seem to pay any attention to her, first turning gaze when the other girl ordered an ale.

“You from some stone age planet or something?” Jennifer joked, hinting at the choice of drink with a subtle nod. The noise from the group of youngsters by the table still heard loudly throughout the cantina.


[member="Victoria Treadway"]

 

[Victoria Treadway]

Tori looked over at the woman who addressed her, then she looked at her drink, "nope, I just like the taste, the colder the better. Is what you're drinking supposed to be cutting edge?"

She sipped her ale and looked around again her attention drawn to the noise, and then back to her drink. Ok so she was odd from the looks of things she wasn't the only odd one in here. Place was filled with them, which made her relax some. If they were all odd, she could fit right in.

She looked at the bartender who stood there for a few minutes observing, or sizing her up who knew. Yes she needed a job, was he going to be able to look at her and go..oh I have a job for you. Not likely.

She waited to see if the woman next to her would say anything more about her drink.

Was she going to have to change everything? To disappear, most likely.

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

A slight smirk appeared on Jennifer’s face in response to Victoria’s comment. “It is actually. Hey Andri?” The bartender turned away from the holoTV that was currently showing speeder racing, “Another one. On me.”

As robot arm started pouring another whiskey with ice cubes, Jennifer began lighting a cigarette, taking a few good puffs from it before turning the cigarette to observe the orange glow at the tip, the burn seeming to satisfy her. The sliding of glass against the counter both of the girls stood at was heard once again as the bartender put down the glass of whiskey in front of Victoria, before he turned back towards the holoTV to watch the race.

Still leaning the bar, Jennifer kept looking at Victoria, not saying anything for a couple of seconds until she finally seemed to put some of the pieces together. At least she thought so. “Ah, you’re the girl that moved into 3041 over at the Sansa Complex? Yea?”



[member="Victoria Treadway"]

 

[Victoria Treadway]

[member="Jen"]​

​

Tori leaned on the bar feeling as if the weight of the world had finally fallen off and slithered away to the floor, she looked at the glass and to the woman who was currently keeping her occupied.

"thanks, and yes, and how did you know that?" She lifted the whiskey. The smell hit her first it made her nose wrinkle up she was a bit hesitant but hey when was the last time someone bought her a drink in a cantina? Never so..

She took the first sip at first the taste was rather mellow the burn that started in her throat and pooled in her stomach was unexpected, "OH Mmy" her eyes got big for a moment, blowing out as if to cool her mouth "that's a bit more than I expected"

Wow, if that's cutting edge she thought I don't know how she does it. Tori blinked a few times setting the glass down gently. She'd have to nurse that a bit.

 

[Jen]

“Hmmm, just intuition.” Jen said before taking another puff from her cigarette, a sigh of relaxation heard from her afterwards as she slumped her shoulders, rolling them as if trying to ease some sort of back pain.

It was good to take a pause from coding. She had been working on a major project for a while now and coding for almost thirty-one hours straight was not something you could keep up for long. The thirty-one hours had been fueled by soda, deathsticks and medicine for compulsive sleeping disorder, she had acquired through a stolen prescription meant to threat some poor sods illness.

After that she had crashed, hard, and awoken to the promise of a night out with the gang. Which was why she was currently at Losers Bar. Hopefully, it was going to be a long chaotic evening and morning.

As Victoria took a sip from the whiskey, Jennifer smirked at her reaction to the drink. “So how come you’re here now of all places? Got any plans for tonight?”


[member="Victoria Treadway"]

 

[Victoria Treadway]

Plans. She hadn't planned anything not even leaving she just left. This woman next to her she seemed confident, knowledgeable, and better yet she had that look of been there and done it.

"No plans, well I planned in a few more drinks. Looking around. As for why I'm here, well let's say it's one place that I can blend in" She hoped. She didn't want to say too much her new companion could get her in trouble she wasn't looking for.

"Why do you ask?" She took another drink, this time it didn't burn as much

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

When the cigarette in her hand had finally shrunken so much in size that it could barely be held anymore, Jennifer decided to extinguish the tobacco by crushing it against a nearby ashtray, her nonchalant gaze still seen on her pale face.

“You just look like one that could use a time-out.” Jennifer said with a grin, turning to lean up against the bar instead of facing it, her face turning towards the group of loud youngsters by the table not far away.

She was silent for a second as if she did not want to continue the conversation, but as one from the group peeked up towards the bar and caught Jennifer’s gaze she raised a hand and yelled “Toss me my jacket, Jerk!” catching her black leather jacket moments afterwards.

Chairs scraping against the concrete floor was heard throughout the bar as the members of the group slowly raised themselves from their seats, still talking loudly with each other as they moved towards the exit of the bar, some of them talking with the bartender before leaving, others staring at Victoria as they passed her on their way towards the exit. They were an intriguing bunch, most of them wearing broken down and old clothes, as well as chains and leather jackets a kin to the one Jennifer was now wearing. One of them were even holding a black baseball bat.

As the members slowly poured out of the bar, Jennifer started to walk towards the exit as well, holding the door as she turned around towards Victoria. “You coming or what? Let’s give you a tour of the neighborhood.”


[member="Victoria Treadway"]

 

[Victoria Treadway]

[member="Jen"]


Time out, yeah she could use a time out, time out of life for a while, at least until she was ready to do something else. She watched Jen's interaction with the group how they seem to be waiting.

As soon as they tossed Jen her coat they all began filing out, what as it like to have that kind of control, or that ability to urge people into action. She looked at Jen and then to the group, then to herself she sure didn't fit in with them did she.

She bit her lip wondering could she find out more about them...as Jen walked towards the door Tori felt her opportunity slipping away.

coming? She smiled, "Feth yes I'm coming" She drank down the last of the drink and headed towards the door, what was she to say now she looked appreciatively at Jen and nodded her thanks. Was the woman reading her mind?

 

[Jen]

The change in atmosphere was apparent as soon as they stepped out onto the humid dark streets. It had recently rained, meaning that spills of polluted water still dripped from the kilometers of soaked skyscrapers above and onto the ground.

Losers Bar was found in a dark alley between two of the major streets located in the Undercity, that combined with its lack of flashy advertisement made it almost invisible compared to all other shops in the alley, their neon signs reflecting in the puddles of rain on the ground.

Jennifer adjusted her leather jacket somewhat as Victoria stepped out onto the street, refusing to close it despite the cold air that flew through these parts of Nar Shaddaa at night. “I forgot to ask you. Do you have a vehicle?” She inquired as she slowly started to walk down the alley, following the group that strolled ahead of the two. Even though they physically didn't, they occupied almost the entire street, talking loudly and playing around, often enough getting a greeting or two from a local street bum, shop owner or friend.

“Also-“ Jen was about to continue, interrupted as Nick, one of the boys from the group fell behind to talk with the two, a six-pack of canned beer under his arm. “Yo, want one?” He asked, throwing one almost immediately to Jen and offering another to [member="Victoria Treadway"].

 

[Victoria Treadway]

There was a smell to a city once the rain fell, it became raw, acidic, the grime washed downwards covering everything. Tori looked up it wasn't like Balmorra or Alderaan it was almost black rain from the skies above. Nothing here was clean it seemed.

"No, no vehicle." She hadn't thought to have one, it was a luxury that she decided she didn't need right now, it could wait. The group ahead of them seemed to know right where they were going. Tori knew that she shouldn't just wander off with people she just met, that was a lesson she learned on Balmorra. But this wasn't Balmorra, and she wasn't a child anymore. She was an orphan.

The pain that she had been fighting with for months prickled inside her and worked to overwhelm her, loss. ugh she thought to herself not now. Just then someone offered a beer, "That would be great" She looked at him, "Thanks....."

Nick smiled, "Nick" Tori took the offered beer. Maybe it would keep that pain at bay one more night.

She looked at [member="Jen"] "you were saying"

 

[Jen]

Jennifer glanced briefly between Victoria and Nick, a slight smile playing on her lips for a second before the conversation continued. “Oh right.” Jennifer exclaimed. The surprise her voice carried fake, but used to interrupt the silence she had built. After all, the question had not left her mind since she had intended to ask it. “Well, man. If you want to stay here for long, you should grab a speeder as soon as possible. Anyway, you never said. What should we call you?” She asked, taking a sip from her beer.

As they walked, the group would at one point turn down an even narrower side alley, acidic water dripping from the metal mesh that covered the top of the walkway, clatter of glass heard behind them as two members bashed in the side mirror of a swooper with their baseball bats laughing as they sprinted away from the scene in order to catch up with the group. No one really reacted, apparently that was everyday antics.

Further ahead, a dumpster could be seen lit ablaze, the fire dancing on the walls of the alley and casting shadows of the aliens huddled around it. As the group ahead stopped, their voices echoing in the alley, Jennifer started to walk to the front, giving Victoria a short wave to signal her to come with her.

When they reached the front, one would see an old Duros clad in dirty brown garments talking with members of the group with a pained, yet genuine smile on his face. They were joking about and obviously, it was someone they knew well. “Ah, Jennifer!” The Duros exclaimed once his large red eyes caught attention of her, his voice hoarse. “Good to see you!”

Jennifer turned briefly towards Tori with a wide, almost excited smile on her face. “That’s Zhug. Best Doaki spice dealer around. Ever tried it? He still deals free samples for first time customers, right Zhug?”

[member="Victoria Treadway"]​

 

[Victoria Treadway]

Grab a speeder, ok. First she would need lessons on driving it. Be kind of hard to get something that she would crash in minutes.

They walked down the alley, it glowed warm yellow light dancing across the high walls. Shadows moved creating eerie looking creatures reaching out from the shadows. For a moment it held her attention like a holo of an old movie.

She heard [member="Jen"] ask her what to be called. "Call me Tori" yeah she like it a lot more than Victoria so formal prim proper. Yeah Tori would work.

She had only seen pictures of any duros in again a holo so now to see one she could only think wow. "Spice. No I've never tried it. Free you say" nothing was ever free.

But she could try one didn't mean she had to keep buying it. She didn't ask many questions. There were eyes watching gauging what was this girl doing here. Was she one of them. Or a wanna be?

Tori didn't notice really, a beer in one hand and the offering of something new, "what does it do?"

 

[Jen]

“Tori it is. You already know Nick, and you can just call me Jen. The rest of the guys?” She waved her hand towards the group as they had approached the Duros and chuckled. “Call them whatever. Or you gotta ask them.”

As they had begun to talk with Zhug, most of the people in the group had appeared to eagerly want get on with the proceedings. Soon enough a small half circle had formed around the Duros, with some exchanging credits for small packs of various substances, while others were intently watching Victoria curiously as the Duros gave her a tiny transparent sample bag. Within, a bright green dust could be found, grainy like emerald sugar.

When Tori asked what the spice did, one of the guys that was watching, a tall and rather goofy looking curly haired dude leant a bit forward with a large grin on his face and answered enthusiastically. “It’s gonna give you the kick of your life, man!”

The response made Jennifer smile slightly as she observed Victoria patiently. After this the plan, at least if they followed what Jennifer had in mind, would be to travel to one of the nearby clubs and party their brains out. Looked like everyone in the gathering needed that to keep the depression at bay for just a couple of more hours.

[member="Victoria Treadway"]​

 

[Victoria Treadway]

"kick of my life huh" She looked at the goofy kid she didn't really think too long on it, "Why not" she took the required steps toward the supplier and held out a hand, a few laughs and hands on her back encouraging her.

She looked back at Nick and Jen she smiled at her new friends. She looked at what was handed to her and she was a bit lost on how but she would soon watch and learn. Soon enough she moved back near the two that she had come with.

She was finally making her own choices about her life doing what she wanted, not worried about what anyone else thought. The acceptance of those around her felt warm and familiar like family. Perhaps she had finally found a place she truly belonged.

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

Friends were easy to find on Nar’Shaddaa as long as you had credits. But the ones that took care of you like family when your pockets were empty were rare beings. Jennifer was not sure where the group around her fell on such scales, but one thing was certain. They cared about each other. Sometimes some individuals just cared more about spice than anything else.

Jen emptied the beer can in her hand as Tori stepped forward to grab the Doaki sample. With a careless motion, she cut a hole in the bottom of it with her vibro knife while drinking; the cut smoother than a warm knife through butter, yet it still resulted in beer drops spilling everywhere. It went down much faster chugging the beer that way and as she finished the can, she tossed it aside, the metal clinging against the concrete in the alleyway.

Most in the group didn’t seem to intake whatever it was that they had bought right way, only a few popping a some pills or putting odd flimisplast like squares on their tongues. To say the least, old Zhug proved to be quite the well-stocked pharmacy.

Some were whispering in the background as they looked at Victoria standing with the bag, it had probably been a long time since they had gotten any free samples themselves. Jennifer looked towards the somewhat uncertain Victoria. “Easiest way is just to sniff it. Since I’m guessing it is your first time, don’t take a lot. It smashes you hard.” Right? Didn’t it? It was such a long time ago that she had last had that zeroday hit that she wasn’t even sure what it had felt like anymore.

[member="Victoria Treadway"]​

 

[Victoria Treadway]

She looked at Jen a bit hesitant, "sniff it" was all she repeated she looked down at it then to everyone around her they looked hungry so much so she thought about just handing it to them to share.

A short glance to Nick and Jen she brought the bag up and made like she was smelling flowers in the shop. That was when it hit her head on she felt herself take a few steps back as everything shifted. "ohh"

Everything changed and she felt free, released relaxed. "wow" She felt shivers running down her spin, and nausea building in her stomach. Had she taken too much? She frowned, when she went to take a step she didn't realize her feet weren't moving, she fell foward and down like a flap jack.

She laid there and rolled over looking up, she still felt sick, "oh god"

[member="Jen"]