Public Shadow of the Mirror [Darkwire, Kelada]

[Darkwire Maestro]

So much for a simple drink.

Rhé sighed heavily as the bartender tossed the redheaded man across the room. Despite the commotion, though, she did as much as she possibly could to not acknowledge any part of the confrontation. Up to that point, she hadn't even acknowledged anyone else in the room. A brawl was not a relaxing use of her time. She supposed that was the trade-off. Go to a well-known bar: get recognized by well-known people. Go to an out-of-the-way bar: get set upon by fringers, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and other unsavory characters. Was there no place in the galaxy where she could be near people but also not be bothered by them?

She sighed again. No. There was no way to involve other people in her affairs and not also involve herself in their own affairs. Even just a simple interaction like going to a bar meant sharing something. Rhé knew all too well how deep intimacy could take two people. She was good at shielding herself from most of the truly personal things. But every once in a while, her guard would drop, and someone would make their way through. She already felt herself getting more than just protective of Zo'i. How she felt about her charge was evolving without her control. That had been expected. But that closeness was dredging up old feelings that she thought she had left behind on Terminus.

Old feelings made all the more present due to a certain new CorpSec hire.

Rhé had hoped that she could leave the past in the past. Or, if not forever, at least she would have had more time to deal with her emotions before having to face her former lover again. But that's not how things played out. Other elements seemed determined to force her to deal with everything.

She took a decently-sized swig of her mixed drink, then set it back down with a light clack on the counter. A feline humanoid took a tumble nearby and Rhé snapped out of her thoughts. The young woman seemed harmless enough so she got off her stool and extended a hand down to the girl ( Kayûm Kratha ) on the floor. "Here. Let me help you up."

 

[Kayûm Kratha]

Kayûm was luckily looking right around her or else she would have startled again when a woman ( Darkwire Maestro ) came up to her and spoke.

”Here. Let me help you up."

Kayûm grace a grateful smile and took the offered hand“Hehe- Thank you. I startle WAY too easily.”

She said as she was helped up out of the strong alcohol puddle.

She picked up her bag on the floor, relieved to find that none of the contents have spilled. The glass cup she was using had shattered and several pieces had dug into her skin, which she didn’t really mind. She looked back up to the woman“Thanks again...”

Kayûm tilted her head to the side as she searched for the kind woman’s name. A old habit to be sure- but she meant no harm.

 

[Marimax Mortui]

Marimax watched as the brawl slowly drew to it's climax, though he kept his pistols on the reptiles. From his peripheral vision, he noticed the other patrons began to return to normalcy, and even the red-haired gentleman managed to collect a bounty. Shaking the pistol in his right hand at one of the remaining reptiles, then nodding his head toward the bar, and finally he flashed grin as the reptile took the meaning and moved cautiously toward the bar. As he was being passed, Marimax whispered the drink he desired. "Raging Rancor, if you will."

Spinning his guns in two sessions, he quickly holstered them. Turning toward the bar and it's tender, Marimax dropped some credits on the rustic top saying, "Sorry for the mess. Hope that covers the clean up detail." Without a care or readable expression on his dark-skinned face, he walked casually by the two he had severely wounded, noting both will be in the market for new career opportunities.

Then stopping briefly by the red-haired gent before returning to his own personal corner of the cantina, he commented with an impressive tone to his voice, "Congrats on the bounty." Marimax wondered how much the bounty was worth, or if the trouble it caused for the red-haired man. He knew what it cost two of the bounty's comrades. There was a joke somewhere in there involving limbs or something, but he couldn't remember. The joke would come to him weeks later, and he would laugh about it then, but now it was time to chase that blackout.

Xandyr / Daiya / Yula Perl / Darkwire Maestro / Kayûm Kratha / Helena

 

[Daiya]

"Yeah, I'm good, I'm alright." The girl's words were more reassuring to her own ears, grateful she could at least hear them over the blood pounding through her head. She shot a glance toward the Zeltron woman, who was confronting the soldier that had just shot and maimed two of the Trandoshan thugs already.

Ordinarily, Daiya would be glad to see the attackers of someone like Xandyr put down swiftly. Yet the soldier had already proven himself unpredictable by getting involved with someone else's fight without a clear stake in it himself. Were Tawrro not off in another part of the bar, the girl would have expected him to play the part of her protector against any more unpredictable strife, but today it seemed like that honor went to Yula.

The Zeltron woman was certainly more level-headed than Daiya's typical guardian.

With a crash and a thud of another body hitting the floor, the young shadowrunner's attention was drawn back to Xandyr. Who, at great cost to his luck for the next few decades, had finished subduing the last of his Trandoshan attackers. That, and the soldier's apparent calm risen again, Daiya felt it was safe for her to rise as well.

"You know," the girl said to the soldier as she made her way back to the bar stool where her drink remained. Had remained. Now it was on the floor, having fallen sometime during the scuffle. The teen's lips turned down, her face fraught with disappointment at the rest of the can going to waste. "There are easier ways to get a free drink. And they don't all involve risking getting jumped on your way out of here, either."

Daiya left the word of caution there, climbing back up on the stool she had claimed before. The Beorni was busy making drinks for the soldier and another newcomer, so she leaned against the bar with a forearm, idly playing out a rhythm with her fingers against the counter. The crowd seemed to be slowly settling back into normal again, even with the unsettling spectre of violence remaining. The young girl rolled her eyes as she glanced at the mess the remained, bar fights were always a bad idea for all involved.

"All conflicts should just be solved with a staring contest, don't you think?" Daiya's thoughts were said aloud to no one in particular, but any number of the patrons nearby might think it was to them. She glanced around at them, Yula checking on the downed Nautolan, the cat lady talking with her would-be contact, a newcomer ordering a fruity drink, she figured at least one of them would agree with her...

Yula Perl Xandyr Kayûm Kratha Marimax Mortui Darkwire Maestro Helena Deryn Kaaldos​

 

[Yula Perl]

The conflict in the room seemed to evaporate after a few snapped bones and screams. After the stranger put his weapons away and sat down for a drink, Yula felt comfortable holstering one of her blasters.

Daiya’s voice reached her ears and she allowed her gaze to flicker towards the girl, giving her a brief smile. At her age, Yula would’ve likely escalated things further. Fortunately, Daiya was smart.

Turning back towards Xandyr, she trained her blaster on the Trandoshan just as the man broke it’s hold on him. “Ope-“ Yula aimed her weapon down on instinct, away from the two men lest she hit the redhead on mistake. When the blue light of the bounty puck washed over her face, she put her remaining blaster away.

“So that’s what this was all about.” Gingerly stepping around the Trandoshan, she offered Xandyr a hand. “You alright?” He didn’t look alright.

“I’ll buy you a strawberry daiquiri for the pain.” Grinning widely, Yula would help lead him back to the bar if he desired.

Daiya | Xandyr | Deryn Kaaldos

 

[Darkwire Maestro]

The feline woman looked at Rhé expectantly. She seemed nice enough and the off-duty corporate assistant could use some decent conversation. There was no harm in giving her name. Right? "Rhé is my name," she responded to the Felcatian's unasked question. A light smile touched her lips but her eyes remained covered under her shades. While she was fine conversing with one of the other patrons of the bar, she wasn't too keen on just how many people there were and didn't want to take additional chances of being recognized. That might not be so bad, depending on the company, but Rhé was not the type to take chances. Although, just being at a random bar was a chance, so maybe she was just full of it.

"And yours?" she asked as Rhé began to dig around in her own hangbag looking among her belongings for anything useful. The bag wasn't infinite, but sometimes it seemed that way when she couldn't find the specific item she was attempting to find. But then, she never seemed to absolutely everything that she needed either. A towel would be handy to help the other woman sop up the alcohol. But Rhé didn't have a towel. Judging by the nature of the cantina, they probably didn't have all that much to offer either. But Rhé did find a handkerchief which she handed to the other woman.

Kayûm Kratha​

 

[Xandyr]

Yula Perl Daiya

"No, no I'm definitely not alright," said Xandyr to the zeltron. He was more than willing to take a little support on the way back to the bar. In the end, being thrown by the beorni had probably been the worst of it.

More drinks also meant asking the beorni to server them after he had definitely broken a few of Xandyr's bones.

"See...that's the difficult bit. The balancing act, if you like..." he said, as he tried very hard to stay upright. "Drink enough for the pain and I might drink so much that he gets up and walks off without me noticing..."

Xandyr waved his free arm towards the trandoshan. He was glad the newcomer hadn't shot the actual bounty too, that would have seen his pay cut in three.

 

[Daiya]

While Daiya's whimsical plea went unheard by the other patrons, the teen didn't mind it so much. The brief fight had put her on an edge, and she was keen on getting back to a relaxing mood once more. The Beorni barkeep was still busy making several drinks, most of them strawberry daiquiris for some reason. He seemed to be avoiding her beckons, despite the girl motioning when he was clearly looking her way. She frowned, after not getting herself involved in the conflict and sacrificing her drink in the process, the young shadowrunner expected a bit more respect from the bar's keeper.

On top of it all, he'd probably insist on serving her something non-alcoholic again! A frown crept over the girl's face. She stopped trying to get the Beorni's attention for the moment and looked away. Daiya wasn't pouting, not exactly. She just needed something different to focus on, and with Yula helping Xandyr back to the bar, no one else nearby was really that available or interesting.

Excepting the woman in casual wear who was obviously here to meet someone.

Daiya thought it had been the feline woman, but their conversation went nowhere beyond mere greetings. The woman, whom she assumed was some kind of corporate ladder-climber with a purse like that, gave her name and Daiya instantly forgot it as inconsequential. Yet something at the back of her head kept the girl's attention on their exchange. She watched the woman wearing sunglasses, the shades bothering her for some reason, and for a moment she found herself imagining the woman without them.

"You!" Daiya cried at once, the pieces clicking together in her mind. She recalled a beach on Belazura, the vid she had helped Zenie show there, the threat of arrest by CorpSec, and at the end of it all, this woman intervening. Now Daiya tried to remember the woman's name, not that it really mattered so much. She was Luminous Sun's spokesbeing, or assistant, or something like that. "What's a Corpo like you doing here? Can't get good drinks in your cloudcutters?"

Yula Perl Xandyr Marimax Mortui Darkwire Maestro Helena Deryn Kaaldos​

 

[Darkwire Maestro]

"You! What's a Corpo like you doing here? Can't get good drinks in your cloudcutters?"

The handkerchief had barely left her hand before there was more roudyness. Initially, Rhé didn't bother to pay attention. She wasn't there to brawl or shout, unlike all of the other rabble rousers. But no more than a brief glance was required to determine that the ire was directed at her. Kark, was all she thought as she immediately recognized the mostly blonde teen that steadfastly prevented Rhé from providing protection to the young heir of Belazura. So much for a relaxing, anonymous drink.

Rhé considered leaving. There was no reason for her to entertain the teen's delusions of right and wrong. She also felt no obligation to defend herself to someone so obviously blinded by their own perspective. And with any hope of a peaceful evening gone, her reasons for coming to the cantina were suddenly nullified.

But then, there was no peace anywhere anymore. Not for her. Between working for Sun, formulating strategies for or against the other DireX, raising Zo'i, and maintaining just enough anonymity and leaving just enough breadcrumbs to keep her past away from her, Rhé didn't have a lot of opportunities like this one.

She sighed, turning away from the girl and back to the bar, where she sat down once more. Having missed whatever snarky comment the teen had made, Rhé wasn't exactly sure what to say in response. "Another gin. Make it a double this time." She cocked her head back in the direction of the girl. "You want to tell me how righteous you are again? Or maybe you'd like to remind me of how evil I am." She turned back to the Beorni bartender. "Why'd you even let her in here? She's barely older than a pup."

Then Rhé felt bad. She knew the girl had just been protecting her friend. She hadn't been wrong about Sun either. But that didn't make the girl right. The young girl was just narrow minded. And not surprisingly so. If the girl was running with Darkwire at her age, she'd had a rough upbringing to be sure. But she had no perspective outside her own harsh world. Rhéala wasn't sure what she could say to change the girl's mind. To make her see that there was more than one way to see the galaxy.

The older woman gestured to the seat next to her. "Well, Miss-All-Grown-Up. Do you want a drink?"

Daiya | open​

 

[Yula Perl]

Yeah, it looked like that had hurt.

Yula cocked her head to the side. A mischievous, thoughtful grin slowly spread across her face. “Oh, don’t you worry about that.”

Sliding down from the bar stool, she produced a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs from her pocket and fastened them around the Trandoshan’s wrists, behind his back.

“They’re stun cuffs.” She mentioned casually to Xandyr , slipping back into her seat. The Beorni looked at her warily as she ordered on beer for herself, and a strawberry daiquiri for her new friend.

Her gaze flicked over to Daiya as she cried out at someone in recognition. She couldn't tell if this was a positive interaction or not, but from Daiya's language she figured she'd keep an eye on them.

 

[Xandyr]

"Those looked more...recreational..." went Xandyr. He winced, which almost entirely undermined the attempt at a salacious sparkle to his blue eyes. He decided to slump over the bar.

The only bit of him that didn't currently hurt was his artificial arm. He used that one to pick the glass, taking a ship of bright red liquid painkiller. His gaze slid sideways down the interaction between Daiya and another woman.

"Did you have to throw me that hard?" he asked of the barman. The response was a paw waved in the vague direction of a sign that clearly stated:

DO NOT CROSS THE BAR

"Hopefully he wakes up before long. Don't fancy dragging him back to my ship," he said to Yula. "Oh and thank you for the drink and cuffs," he said, finding his manners. With a grimace he rubbed his real hand over his ribs. Yup at least one of those was broken. Bacta was expensive and going to take a neat slice off the reward of the bounty.

 

[Daiya]

Daiya watched the exact moment the Corpo woman realized her little game had been found out. The expression on her face, and the sigh of resignation caused the girl's lips to tug a little into a wry grin. The way the woman had cornered Zenie in their last encounter, acting so smug and conciliatory towards Daiya's friend while dangling a pithy solution, made her queasy just remembering. Seeing the woman taken down a notch was satisfying, if only momentarily.

The woman ordered another drink, seemingly ignoring Daiya for the moment. Typical Corpo arrogance, but the young shadowrunner wasn't too annoyed by it. The girl figured if she hadn't scared off this woman yet, that she was probably going to engage again. Daiya's eyes wandered over to Xandyr, who was being helped back to the bar by Yula again after securing his bounty with a curious pair of stun cuffs. As he settled in, Daiya offered a good-natured jab to the errant bounty hunter. "At least it's not you in the cuffs, Xandyr. Pink is so not your color."

She grinned, but it disappeared as the girl caught the words from the Corporate lady again. More arrogant blather, and an insult to boot! This Corpo was certainly full of herself. Daiya silently wished Tawrro was around to be big and scary, but after the altercation with the Trandoshans she wondered if anyone was going to really be intimidated anymore today. The woman's preferred weapon appeared to be words, anyway, and words were something Daiya could easily defend against.

"I don't have to remind you," the girl remarked in defense. The woman's vitriol was juvenile, and who better to respond than another juvenile? She scoffed at the reference to her youth, Daiya was nearly fifteen! The line at which she stopped being a child and started being a woman seemed to go up by a year for every person who didn't like what she said. "If a mere 'pup' can see it, you surely notice that yourself every time you look in the mirror."

Luckily for the both of them, the vitrolic exchange died at that point. There was no good way to win that, anyway, and playing a game of verbal porg with Corpos was just asking for trouble.

"Yes, I would love a drink," Daiya replied, a sweet smile reappearing on her face. It might have been stiched there by the thread of lies, but she wasn't about to waste the opportunity. The Beorni bartender didn't seem like the type she could charm into serving her more than a sugary fruit punch again. "Tell you what, order me a Meltdown and we can talk without the insults. How 'bout it?"

The teen didn't tell the woman how she was dying to try that drink, or that a host of adults had already denied her the chance. And if she had been a sensible sort, that might have deterred her. But it only made Daiya more determined, and her mouth was practically salivating in anticipation of finally attaining that coveted cocktail.

It was sure to taste even sweeter with her unwitting foe providing it.

Yula Perl Xandyr Marimax Mortui Darkwire Maestro Helena Deryn Kaaldos​

 

[Darkwire Maestro]

Rhé resisted a groan. She wanted to lay into the child about her complete and utter misunderstanding. Or perhaps admonish Daiya for her inability to comprehend responsible choices. Not in reference to the alcohol but to the absolutely skewed view of what "protecting her friend" required. But from the teen girl's standoffishness, there was no doubt that very little of what Rhé had to say would fall on ears tuned to listening. Rather, any words would only be met with more not-very-original snark and an obvious childish retorts. Maybe Rhéala should have gone with her charge to wherever Luminous had sent her. Whatever the teen's job was had to be more relaxing than this.

Suddenly, she was thinking about Zo'i again, missing the kid. Zo'i gave her snark and Rhé didn't mind so much. Zo'i was frequently rebellious and yet Rhé enjoyed seeing Zo'i learn from her mistakes. So what was the difference here? Was she really growing so attached to the Zeltron teen?

After downing a significant gulp of her own beverage, she sighed and came to a decision. "Fine," was all Rhé said in response to the teen at first. She turned her attention back to the Beorni bartender. "Give the kid a Meltdown." The silent, ursine being cocked an eyebrow. "Don't give me that karkin' look," the human woman shot back, her Pamarthen roots showing. Her grace wasn't on display tonight and she had no problem with that. "You let the kid in here you oaf. Without a guardian. That's on you. Get. Her. The. Kriffing. Drink." Rhé slipped a cred chit out of her bag and slid the chip over the counter in the direction of the Beorni.

If the bear had lips he would have pursed them. But he complied and, after a moment of mixing, slapped a glass down on the counter in front of the teenager.

Rhé lifted her glass to the kid. She gave a sideways glance to the other two who were with the teen, silently hoping they didn't intervene and take the kid's drink away. "Cheers." She could have thrown in some jib like "little lady" or some words about responsibility but she refrained. After all, Daiya wasn't going to listen anyway. So let the kid make her own mistakes. Rhé wanted to see how capable the teen was of learning from her own mistakes.

Daiya | nearby: Yula Perl | Xandyr​

 

[Yula Perl]

“And just as functional.” Yula finished for him, smiling blithely. Daiya’s comment didn’t go unheard, and she picked up her drink in a mock salute to the girl. “Pink is everyone’s color, my dear.”

Certainly was popular depending on where you went.

She patted Xandyr on the shoulder—gingerly—and turned back to the bar. As hard as he’d thrown the redhead, the Bearoni sure was calm about it.

“Just make sure I get them back.” She winked. “Or I could loan them to you for your next bounty.”

Xandyr Daiya Darkwire Maestro

 

[Xandyr]

Daiya Darkwire Maestro Yula Perl

"At least it's not you in the cuffs, Xandyr. Pink is so not your color."

Xandyr have a shrug and just the slightest cant of his head that suggested no that did not actually sound all that terrible.

“Just make sure I get them back.” She winked. “Or I could loan them to you for your next bounty.”

"Look," said Xandyr, wincing. "I would make some terrible comment about you having to come and get them back off me in the most fun way. Right now I'm not sure I can stand, let alone anything more vigorous." He paused for breath. Breathing hurt.

"How about you hell me get this lug back to my ship and you can get em straight back?"

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula grinned widely into her glass.

“I’m not worth the pain, huh?”

Nah, she couldn’t blame him. If Yula had Xandyr’s injuries, she’d be complaining far more. Downing the remainder of her drink, she suppressed a belch while giving him a curt nod.

“Sounds fair. I’m sure those cuffs will see more action before the night’s out, anyhow.”

She hopped off of the bar stool and paced around the unconscious bounty.

Xandyr | Daiya | Darkwire Maestro

 

[Xandyr]

Xandyr sighed. She certainly looked worth the pain. There was some - lots - of regret for all the bits of him that felt broken. Standing up was going to be a challenge in itself. He finished his drink, hoping it would take the edge off.

"Don't suppose I can get a drink on the house, one for the road, for getting thrown across the bar?" he tried.

The beorni shook his head fiercely and pointed his paw towards the sign again.

"I am going to come back here," Xandyr promised, "and I am going to steal that sign."

The beorni managed to twist his maw into something resembling a grin.

"I'm-a-coming," he said to the Zeltron. He made his way from the stool and went to grab the trandoshan's other arm.

"Why'd you have to big so damned big..."

 

[Daiya]

An uproarious cheer resounded within Daiya's head as the Corpo conceded. She watched with blissful amusement as the woman berated the very bipolar bear into serving the girl again, letting most of the words filter past her ears in a haze. The teen was too enamored by the idea of finally tasting that forbidden drink, and her eyes were as big as saucers when it was finally set down before her.

"Huh?" the girl asked, the glib attitude missing as she was shaken from her reverie. The woman was holding her glass up, so Daiya quickly took her own and mimicked the gesture. It was far from her first time tasting alcohol, but something about this particular moment had stolen some of the smooth sensibilities the girl thought she had acquired so far. Daiya still wasn't quite sure the drink was real until she put it up to her lips, finally muttering a disaffected, "Cheers."

The Meltdown smelled a bit like carbonation, and for a moment the teen wondered if she had been duped again. Her brow furrowed as she tipped it back against her lips, taste flooding her mouth as she let in enough for a sip. The drink started with foam on top, bubbles that she ignored as just getting in the way of the real flavors. Those came next, a sweetness that she had gotten from other drinks before, but one that was far from the cloying or overpowering nature of those fruity beverages. The taste here was more subtle, hiding an antiseptic flavor behind its lighter notes. She wasn't expecting the soapy taste, but it was barely upon her senses before the overwhelming sensation of alcohol assaulted her mouth.

It hit like a vibrohammer, nearly causing the girl to choke. Her whole mouth was filled with a dry, sharp flavor, much stronger than any alcohol she had tried before. It took everything she could to swallow, knowing that the liquor's biting assault would follow it down her throat, but she swallowed anyway. There were a few miserable seconds where the girl thought she was going to die, and she coughed forcefully as her body tried to reject the drink. It was too far to be at risk, though, and soon Daiya could feel the full length of her esophagus for the first time, its entirety inflamed with the biting kiss of the Meltdown as it slid into her stomach.

Daiya gasped a wheezing breath in, before getting more control over her body, pulling the drink back to gaze in shock at its potency. It was no wonder she had been denied it before, the beverage was the strongest thing she had ever tried. It was surely true what the teen had heard, that it would get her drunk really fast. That was really the point. The spot of rebellion helped, but it was secondary to getting past the point of a mere buzz. And none of the weak cocktails she usually got would do it, even if Daiya was lucky enough to get a friendly bartender to serve her just one round.

"Whoa, okay, that was weird. But good!" The girl recovered her senses, trying to relax her expression enough to beam satisfaction out at the woman and bartender. The ire she felt for the Corpo lady was held at bay, less of an issue now that the girl had her wish in hand. Her mind drifted to other things, such as how much bad luck Xandyr was going to have for breaking that mirror, or the fate of his bounty. The girl listened in on the conversation between him and Yula for a moment, before frowning.

"Ew," the girl said to herself, and looked away from the pair. Yula and Xandyr's new arrangement was definitely not what the teen was hoping to focus on after all. Just thinking about the two of them spending the night together made Daiya's insides twist and the girl took another sip of the Meltdown as a respite. She felt some relief when the burning taste replaced the queasy sensation in her stomach. Daiya gave her head a quick shake to clear it, looking for something else to focus on.

"I guess you're expecting to make a deal now? Because that's what you Corpos do, isn't it, make deals?" She hadn't meant to focus back on the woman, but there wasn't much else that was interesting in the bar right now. The words tumbled out almost effortlessly, whether the alcohol or Daiya's prejudice was fueling her words, it wasn't clear to her. The girl took another sip of her drink, it helped with the conversation in numerous ways. "Well, Zenie's in a new safehouse and you can't reach her. And she'll stay there until we have a neutral place to meet and talk about your demands."

Daiya took another sip as a reward for getting that far. She just hoped her drink was going to last her the whole conversation.

Yula Perl Xandyr Darkwire Maestro​

 

[Darkwire Maestro]

How old had she been when she had her first alcohol? That time seemed so distant to Rhé as she took a decent gulp of her second drink of the night. Certainly she'd been too young herself. To escape the boredom of her teen years she'd gone out and found as much trouble as she could. Booze was the least of her indiscretions at Daiya's age. Despite that, Rhéala had turned out alright ... right? She had a successful career with a projected path geared towards breaking into the highest echelons of galactic society. She had a charge who was also capable and of whom Rhéala was proud. Still, if there had been a way to avoid the pain, to be more prepared for those moments that really mattered, those moments with Sentiri, maybe she could have a successful relationship and more.

Ah, well... She wasn't greedy. Two outta three ain't bad.

When more condemnation came from the teen, Rhé hardly even reacted. She let the teen blurt everything out before saying anything in return. "New safehouse, huh? You mean that abandoned farm on Froswythe? Sure. I'll be sure to continue keeping CorpSec off your backs until you decide to do something more than hide poorly." Rhé had done her homework. She'd tracked down where the Darkwire crew had run on Belazura. And then kept tabs on the group after they left the planet.

It's true, Luminous Sun wouldn't be satisfied until Zenitha Chuma was formally under the DireX's protection. It was also somewhat true that Sun's intentions were not entirely pure. But Rhé wasn't looking to use the young heiress' status for anything. She just wanted to see a young kid, thrust into adulthood too early, be given a chance at freedom. She was pretty sure Daiya wouldn't be able to appreciate that.

"I'm not here to make a deal. I can't force you to do anything you don't want to do. Your friend either. I'm just here to enjoy a nice drink," she said as she rose her glass once more and took another big gulp. "Us Corpos need a day off every now and then too, ya know."

Daiya | Yula Perl | Xandyr​

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula hoisted the Trandoshan’s other arm up, grunting with unexpected exertion.

“He’s a heavy karker, that’s for sure.”

She glanced over at Daiya’s “Ew” with a wicked grin. Hey, she couldn’t blame the kid. Teenagers were weird about this sort of thing.

A quick glance at the woman Daiya was with, then her focus turned back to Xandyr.

“So, does this mean I get a cut of the bounty?” She quipped as they dragged the unconscious Trandoshan in fuzzy pink handcuffs away.

Xandyr | Daiya | Darkwire Maestro