Private The Old Days

[Noah Corek]

Sluis Van
Supernova Cantina

Noah let out a sigh through his nose as he observed the cards in his hand, a pair of aces, before looking up to observe the rest of the players at the table, having an advantage over them as the buy'ce of his beskar'gam hid his face. Across from him a Zabrak looked particularly worried over his cards, to his left another human looked satisfied with herself and to his right a Twi'lek was looking rather angrily towards Noah, perhaps it was because he had won the last three straight games and had taken about two hundred of the Twi'leks credits. As the Twi'lek stared at him Noah let his hand slip slowly down to his sidearm, holstered at his thigh, so he would be ready in case the Twi'lek decided to do something dumb. Unbeknownst to Noah though, he was about to get an interesting visitor.

 

[Shira Varanin]

Games of chance were just that. You could bring all the skill in the world, pick your perfect moment, and have the random draw flip everything on its head. Shira didn't gamble: she got quite enough of that kind of disappointment at work.

With this game in motion she couldn't step in. She did the next best thing: took a seat away from the table, about ten paces in front of Noah Corek , and just...watched. He'd notice, of course. She wasn't exactly hiding the double-bladed lightsaber at her belt.

 

[Noah Corek]

Indeed Noah disliked games of chance himself but he often found the most interesting people in a cantina tended to gravitate around the card table whether it be the more popular sabacc or the less popular game of Taris Hold 'Em poker Noah was currently embroiled in.

Another thing was that card tables were often shunted off to the side or into a corner as to not disturb the rest of the patrons, this gave Noah ample chance to sit and observe the customers as they came and went. Most of the time this was simply for fun but now it served a purpose.

He eyed the woman almost as soon as she entered, the double-bladed lightsaber at her hip clearly visible. When she sat down a mere ten paces from him he understood what she was here for and his interest was no longer in the game or the others. "Something I can help you with madam Jedi?"

 

[Shira Varanin]

Noah Corek

Half a smile. "Finish your game, Mister Corek."

Noah Corbulo Corek the Fifth, once a leading figure in the Omega Protectorate, longtime arms manufacturer, supplier and patron of the Underground - Corek had been active on the galactic scene since at least 835, when Shira was a small child. Maybe he wore beskar'gam to hide the wrinkles.

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah gave a small tip of his helmet, an acknowledgement to Shira. "Thank you for courtesy madam Jedi." With that his attention returned to the game, a satisfied smirk under his helmet when he saw that two more aces were on the table, giving him four of a kind, one of the strongest hands in poker.

Throwing in about another fifty credits he smirked as the Zabrak and Human female folded, collected the rest of their credits and left the table. The Twi'lek remained however remained at the table, raising the stakes by putting all his credits in and showing his cards. "Flush. Pay up Mando."

As the Twi'lek reached forward to collect his credits Noah grabbed his wrist, tilting his cards forward to reveal them. "Four of a kind. I'll be taking my credits now." Upon seeing this the Twi'lek stood and reached for his blaster, only to be stopped when Noah whipper his own sidearm out. "Do you really wanna do this over a few hundred credits?"

The Twi'lek looked towards him snorted and took his hand off and walked away. Once satisfied that the other man was gone, Noah turned towards the Jedi. "How may I help you?"

 

[Shira Varanin]

Noah Corek

Shira had a small round table; she gestured at the empty seat across from her.

"Before I get to that, I'm curious. Is money really that tight that you'd be ready to shoot a man over a day's pay? Provoked or not? I'm not judging necessarily, of course. I'm just wondering what goes through your head in a moment like that."

 

[Noah Corek]

He scooped the credits up and counted them carefully, his total winnings amounting to a little over five hundred credits. He stored them away in a small leather pouch at his hip before standing, walking over and placing himself in the chair across from Shira, the chair creaking in protest somewhat from the weight of himself and his armor.

He snorted and leaned his helmeted head back a bit and chuckled before leaning back forward, visor facing towards her. "First, the man might have been mir'osik but I reminded him that it wasn't a wise idea. Second, money is not tight. Lastly, what goes through my mind is the thought of my two wives, my five children and all my vode who'd grieve for my loss..."

 

[Shira Varanin]

Noah Corek

"Doubling down, hm? Well, it's neither here nor there. I suppose Omega taught you to err on the side of violence."

Shira crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair, halfway casual.

"My name's Shira Varanin - and yes, I'm a Jedi. I'm curious about your time with the Pyre. Open to a few questions?"

 

[Noah Corek]

Shira Varanin

He let out a snort at her comment about doubling down. "I'm pretty sure I'd get stabbed in my sleep if I referred to it as that to my wives, one Mandalorian and the other is an ex-Jedi. Love them both equally though." He flagged down a waitress and ordered two shots of Wyvern's Reserve whiskey.

The name Varanin definitely caught Noah's interest as he leaned forward. "And now hearing that last name I have some questions for you...though they can wait. Ask your questions."

 

[Shira Varanin]

Noah Corek

"I'm interested in how the Pyre got started. There aren't many records of the early days - Cira, Cater, Kerrigan, whoever Omega really was. How did a mercenary crew become a government, an incubator of private-sector Jedi? How did it get so friendly to fringe Force traditions? 'Be who you are and make money at it,' right?"

 

[Noah Corek]

Shira Varanin
Noah sighed and reached up, unclasping his helmet as the hermetic seal was broken and a hissing noise came. Reaching for his waist he pulled out a tobacco pipe before quickly filling the bowl and lighting it, looking to Shira. "Hope you don't mind. This is the only time outta the house I can smoke without being knocked over the head." Taking a quick puff he let it out before nodding.

"From my understanding the Pyre was started by Cira and they absorbed organizations run by Cater and Alcori. Cira was the brain behind the Pyre, her business acumen was the main driving force behind it, when Cira died...well the rest of us tried to keep it going but none of us had that acumen to keep it going. As for force users it is the fact that all were welcome, except Sith and such."

 

[Shira Varanin]

Noah Corek
Shira waved away the disclaimer, or possibly the smoke.

"I hadn't realized it came together that way. The going narrative is it started as one group, one unit. I'm surprised personalities as...forceful...as Cater and Alcori would come under someone else's umbrella that easily. I never knew either of them, but their reputations struck me as..." She shrugged. "Too proud for that. Was there friction, or was the team that close-knit in those days? And for that matter, what did their organizations bring to the table - what made them different, special?"