Where everybody knows your name...

[Julius Sedaire]

Location: The Mad Strill - Keldabe, Mandalore​

Standing outside under the sign of a strill with a mug of netra'gaal in each clawed fist, it's eyes wide and crazy, Ijaat grinned as he breathed in the warm scents of spiced soup, netra'gaal, tihaar and more. It had been too long by far since he had just relaxed on his homeworld. Even longer since he had been to the bar that had been his solace after his wife's disappearance. He came dressed in a simple tunic of emerald tusken cotton and fine-spun black trousers of the same material tucked into black leather boots shined to the pointy of dizzying reflectiveness, a gleaming and well oiled DE-10 at his hip, and his sword set over his chest on a simple baldric.

Walking into the bar via descending the steps, Ijaat was greeted with a cry of welcomes and back-slaps and more. The establishment once owned by him remembered it's founder, and drinks were pressed to him which he swigged gladly, the adriel ooglith quickly helping metabolize him to where the effects of the alcohol took only minutes at most to wash away. His legendary tolerance for tihaar would now be larger than life and the tales of the mythosaur themselves. But he brushed that away, and soon the hullabaloo died down enough Ijaat was able to slip back towards the fringe.

Sighing, he looked at the heavily secured relics in their cases, his hand trailing the armored transparisteel glass. Ancient taung made mythosaur war-axes, old bronzium spear. Here a disintegration rifle said to have belonged to Boba Fett himself. But what caught his eye was the old Journeyman Protector suit of armor in the center of the case, below a tattered banner hailing the clan Akun crest. The jaig eyes still showed through the battering of the paint and beskar, his fathers suit of armor. He wondered, honestly, what the old man would think of his son and the path his life had taken. And he was still wondering as the evening rush crowd began to filter in.

(OOC NOTE: I don't want bounties or combat taking place in this thread, just a social 'blow off steam' or 'plot plots of doom' thread. If you want to threaten a bounty, or make them nervous, feel free, but no actual capturing or wrecking my security. You wouldn't like what happens when you cause problems in the Mando equivalent of a cop bar. Otherwise, let the Chaos commence!)

 

[Rhodessa]

She came here after work, she liked the music and a lot more pilots than grounder came here. She also liked the whiskey and the music, she hoped no one came into ruin the atmosphere. She head to the bar, and asked the bar man One correrilan whiskey please. She got severed her drink, then headed to corner and waited to see who came in for a drink today. After all she still did not know that many mandos, as she spent most time flying high and sitting pretty. Usually signing songs to each other as they do strafing runs, or dive bombing.

 

[Lavania]

The light tapping of the staff as Lavania entered came, the nightsister was confused slightly but there were many thoughts in her head. With the rebuilding of her sisters and the return of her clan. [member="Aisling"], [member="Sasha Voss"], [member="Salaza"] and one or two others like [member="Cassia Edric"] who might not be a sister but she was a witch learning from the seer. A look was on her face when she got approached and for a trip offworld to keep relations with their allies. The technopobic ways were brushed aside mostly as could be seen with the staff the mandalorians had created for the witches to throw face melting shots while still making it look magical. Her seat that was taken out for her to aid the blind woman while she was walking forward allowed her attention to go to the others in the room.

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Ijaat Akun"] [member="Rhodessa"] [member="Lavania"]

Having some rare downtime while her co-pilot, a sandy brown haired Wookiee named Alriccohrahl performed some maintenance on her ship, Eliza Steele made her way from the docking bay at the Keldabe Spaceport where the Corellian Dawn, a YT-1930 Light Freighter, was berthed to a local drinking hole that catered to spacers and the like. The goal was to kick back a little, and maybe pick up some more work either hauling legit or smuggling illegal items. Course, the latter had to be for the right price...

Dressed in her usual spacer attire consisting of a button down tunic/vest combo, nicely fitted trousers with a yellow stripe running down the outside of each pant leg tucked into high leather boots along with her favored weapon a DL-44 Heavy blaster pistol holstered low off her shapely right hip and tied off on her toned thigh, the Corellian smuggler swaggered into the Mad Strill with an air of confidence about her.

Dark chocolate eyes scanned the room noting the usual scum and villainy along with the regulars that frequented places such as this, and one of those Witches from Dathomir from the look of her. Crossing over to the bar, the petite yet far from weak expresso-haired woman flashed the bartender a smile as she walked up to the counter.

"Ni copaani buy'ce gal," Eliza said to the bartender in Mando'a giving a friendly enough nod to the other patrons nearby as the brunette waited for the barkeep to place the ordered pint of ale in front of her.

 

[Kad Tor]

There had been a heat wave, even for Keldabe. This meant for men like Kad, long hours in blistering hot conditions where they would sweat, and get dirty. The goran did not escape the fate his line of work led to, but he could also remedy it. Kad had been drinking a lot lately, and not just because of the heat. His riduur had gone missing, and the man drank the memories away. They were good ones, ones which made him miss her. Kad also fought in several campaigns for Manda'lor, and with recent talk of returning to a migrant culture, Kad found himself needing to hire a ship for work.

His arrival at the bar served two purposes. First he needed to cool down. Second, he was looking for the smuggler spacer type of person that could help him. Kad didn't own a personal ship, why would he when his life was based on Keldabe. That was going to change eventually, so it was time to start preparing for that.

Eyes scanned the bar, and fell on a brunette spacer sitting at the counter. Her Mando'a came out perfectly, and Kad perked up a bit. She didn't look Mando'ad, then again looks could be deceiving. The tall native from Enceri leaned against the bar on the other side of the seat to her left, and ordered an ale for himself. He was still dressed from his day at the forge and knew the smell was not one most people appreciated. He at least freshened up with his spicy scented deodorant, but that only covered some of the smell, enough to be about in public.

When he got his ale he raised it as he looked at the woman.

"Su'cuy, vod. Where did you pick up Mando'a if you don't mind me asking?"

Wow! Was he so out of touch that was the best he had?

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Kad Tor"]

Eliza was watching the ticker tape run along the bottom of the holoscreen behind the bar catching the latest sport scores when a male patron greeted her and asked a question.

The petite smuggler shifted on the bar stool she sat on to get a better look at the guy; dark eyes giving the sandy brown haired man the once over, shaggy beard, muscles, and all. From the looks of him and smell, he'd just gotten done with a labor intensive job or came from working out, though the former seemed more logical by the appearance of his calloused hands from working with tools, and a mix of smoke and a spicy scent - It was a scent she'd smelled before and liked on a man. Hmm… Now what was the name of it? Oh yeah, Swagger.

"Su'cuy," Lizzy greeted back, then added. "I have on occasion worked with Mando'ade before… Pretty decent bunch to do business with for the most part. Best to know the language of the people you're dealing with to get the best bang for one's credit, if you know what I mean." she winked, then took a pretty hearty swig of her ale.

"I take it you're from around here... Me'bana?"

 

[Kad Tor]

Me'bana? What happened, indeed. What was Kad going to go into, himself or the general sense of defeat which hadn't quite shaken off the boots of many of the Mando'ade. They were proud warriors, all of them, which was why defeat stung. Kad took a long draught of his ale. He needed it because it was cold and he was hot. Well there was also the fact it gave him the time to think.

"You heard about the mess with Wayland in your travels? We lost big time, and have the Primevil knocking on our door here. Some of us are prepping to get mobile again. All the war means my shop is busy as everyone wants repairs to their beskar'gam or custom work done. Well I think that explains the feeling around here, and why I look such a mess."

He took another long draught. By the Manda, this one was pretty. Might be dangerous, but Kad could care less. Ral had been a spitfire, and raised on the smuggker's moon. Kad had learned how to deal with spitfires. He needed a ship, and she seemed like she had one. Her attire seemed Corellian, but could just be standard spacer attire, Kad didn't really know for sure. He might as well ask.

"I'm actually working at making my business mobile if I have to. Need to get some beskar, but don't have a ship to haul it. You seem like the kinda gal who does though? You into the transport business?"

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Kad Tor"]

"I did hear about Wayland… Sorry about that, vod," Eliza replied, then she reached forward and pulled a bowl of shelled nuts their way. "Every time Primeval or the One Sith take more territory, it makes my life harder. At least with the Fringe gone now, the southwest quadrant rim ward is profitable again."

Cracking one of the shelled nuts with nimble fingers, the petite smuggler slipped the nut out of the shell and popped it into her mouth. The brunette ate a couple of more like that as she took the time to think about what the Mando had said he was in need of.

"Elek, I am. Are you looking to hire me for one run, or on a contractual basis?" the Corellisi asked before taking another hearty sip of the amber liquid in her ale mug. It was nearly drained.

 

[Jsc]

Table by the Wall
w [member="Ijaat Akun"]

Karen Roberts sat with her legs crossed and her head in her palm. Bored to tears from listening to a Devaronian machinist for the past half an hour. Still, he was her guide through Mandalorian space. Spoke the language, knew the customs; etc. So she'd best at least pretend to be interested in what he was saying.

"...Oh no. Yes, that's very interesting Melkab. I'm sure your wife understands completely."

She faked another smile and waved him to continue. Since her ship was being repaired? Might as well kill time. Though she did wish for better company than her devilish-looking companion. Anything was better than staring at his horny face for the next two hours. Bleh.

She sighed and eyed the bar. Maybe she'd get another drink too.

 

[Kad Tor]

"You're telling me," he popped off. "It seems like we are constantly fighting to keep the Sith and other dark side groups at bay. The proud verde of the Mando'ade are no longer feared, but seem to be put on the defensive it seems. War keeps my busy, and has the credits flowing into my shop, but I wish it was because we were taking territory for Manda'lor and not losing it."

Yes Kad was sore that his people seemed to not be who they had once been. Perhaps they had been lazy, grown too comfortable. Regardless of the reasons, Kad did not like the situation. It was time the Mando'ade made a name for themselves again, which meant being out in the galaxy rather than huddled up one one planet.

His large, rough hand reached for a handfull of the shelled nuts, and set the pile on the counter in front of him. The floor seemed litered witht he shells, so as he shelled them, Kad added to the already litered floor. Popping a few nuts into his mouth he shrugged in reply to her next question.

"Depends on how well you do on the first job I guess. I'd be willing to enter into a more regular arrangement. You're just going to have to get us through enemy territory so I can get to the closest contractor."

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Shaking his head, the supercommando turned from the wall where his fathers' proud armor hung in repose. He had worn it too, once upon a time, before he had picked pack up hammer and tongs and made his own armor. Something about wearing his buir's armor had seemed off and foreign. Even if it had fit well enough in the joints and arms and the like. But more than that, he felt he hadn't earned the wookie braids, the jaig eyes, and the other accolades heaped on the armor. He still didn't really. His father was a true ori'ramikad, and lived by the tenets AND the codex in ways Ijaat just couldn't.

Seeing [member="Karen Roberts"] in some duldrum and boredom, the warrior stepped over, smiling, and promptly waved over a bartender who came over and placed a bottle of tihaar, a jug of netra'gaal, and a dusty green glass bottle of almost rare and impossible to find Corsucanti wine, and a tiny half pint of true Coreillian whiskey that was called 'scotch' or some such, a native drink from some island or such in the northwest of the main continent.

"Excuse me m'am, mind if a dashingly handsome and rich warrior and inventor commandeers your table and woos you with wine and wiles?"

There was a flash of a winning grin, a wink to show it was all for show and he knew nothing would come of it, and an elbow to the machinist companion of hers.

"If of course your friend here doesn't take offense??"

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Melkab looked up at Akun through his wide glasses and seemed quite surprised,

"Why I wouldn't mind at all? Though humans really aren't my type."

Karen was about say something, then she frowned at Melkab for his candor. Oh, oh!? He seemed to get the drift.

"Oh. ...Oh! You meant my human companion? Of course. Silly me. Please, by all means Rally Master. It would be a great honor. Sit. ...I shall find the little boys room. Nature calls."

Melkab the absent-minded devil took his leave. Leaving Karen Roberts thrilled that she'd just been saved from more of his shenanigans.

"Oh good heavens. Thank you stranger. That poor creature had been boring me to tears. Ugh. Impossible species. They just never know when to stop talking. Good grief."

The blue haired woman leaned back in her chair and wondered at the liquids provided. My my. What an excellent selection? Who was this charismatic fellow anyway?

"Is that Coruscanti Wine? Oh my, yes. I haven't seen a bottle since the Sith took Galactic Center. ...Who are you fair stranger? To capture the heart of a lady so quickly. My my. I shouldn't even bother with a guess. Are you a local then? You must give me your name and begin introductions."

She pushed her hair from off her armored shoulders and smiled,

"Karen Roberts. Formerly of Corellia. At your service."

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ijaat grinned, extending his hand... The silver-white gauntlet and golden sheened under-suit peelled and flowed into his pores like mercury, leaving a hand scarred from combat and the forge and heavens knew what else. It was a firm, kind grip that took her hand and squeezed, bringing it to his lips as the helmet and lens rolled and flowed back, forming a cowl around his neck and exposing coal-black hair and a tanned skin that had seen the light of a thousand suns on a hundred worlds or more. Charmingly, he placed his other also bare hand over hers and kissed the top of it, a quaint and respectful gesture that would, did she know of it, indicate he was not worthy to approach such as her.

"I am Ijaat Akun... As your friend said, a Rally Master, a beskarsmith, a Mandalorian Protector, a swordsman, supercommando, and really just about every good or witty adjective in the known galactic basic language and a few others besides... The wine... Well... Let us just say that sometimes, when one wants something very, very much, it's not so much how much you pay, but who you pay that gets you it."

Flashing a brief grin, Ijaat extended his hand. Though he would not show the slightest presence in the force, the palm of his hand would turn first gold, then silver, and the metal caged wine bottle would drift into it by the neck, slowly and gracefully as if pulled by a Force user using telekinesis. Nodding, he pulled out a knife with a wild force shard given to him by his friend [member="Muad Dib"] and stabbed the cork, pulling it out with a mighty pop and sitting it, still impaled in the cork, to the side as he offered her the bottle.

"A lady of your taste may drink from the bottle, and I'll even hold it for her.... As for who I really am? All jokes aside I'm an old war-dog whose come home from campaign to relax and get mind numbingly drunk and flirt with pretty girls and tell tall tales... Interested in trading stories and drinks? All on my tab, of course"

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Ijaat Akun. A Renaissance man, of sorts. Warlord and smith. ...Hm. Fascinating. It appeared she had met the most interesting man in the sector,

"It is a cool pleasure to make your acquiescence Master Akun. Please, sit and share with me your stories and adventures. I myself am a woman fond of the art of storytelling. Especially when commanded by a fellow soldier. Such as yourself."

Roberts took little interest in his Force prowess at this passing. His personality was far more provocative than his magicks. She wished to explore that somber smile of his, his gentle touch, before tempting the Force for his truest self. Such was the mind of a Lady not often pursued by her fellow man. Truthfully, most strangers were down right intimidated of Ol' Blue. Armor, guns, sabers, and sage. It took a bold personality to even approach her. A bold personality and a singular individual indeed.

She took the bottle and poured herself a timid glass. Swishing the wine she savored the aroma. Then, tapping the glass against her right ear, she cast a simple spell of discernment. The wine was neither poisoned nor altered nefariously. Fabulous! She took a hearty sip and waved Akun forward,

"Mm. Delicious. You have excellent taste Master Akun. And my full, attention."

Karen's writer should probably now note that she was a woman taken in marriage for over a year now. However, seeing as how much money Akun was willing to spend to strike her fancy? Karen herself did not mind playing the blossoming lotus for yet still a minute longer. She might even try to blush a little. Oh my.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Smiling, Ijaat pulled the knife from the bottle and grinned. The trick with pressor wands in his gauntlets often made people think he was a Force User, but he was as far from that as humanly possible. Technology went a long way to leveling the playing field if one knew just where and how to apply it. And, not to brag, but ijaat was one of those rare geniuses who did, and abused the knowledge like a red-lekku'd twilek dancer in a hutt cartel during a sale auction.

"Well I am glad... Even if one is not looking for true romance, the chase and ploy can be quite fun, no? Lets me relive my youth... Youth that probably could have been better spent then poking a terentatek with an ewok spear in it's testicles.... THAT was not my wisest moment, but I'm fairly certain spice AND tihaar were involved...."

Pulling the tihaar cork out with fingers as his palm returned to flesh color, he poured two shots, smiling, and offered her one of the glasses.

"This is less refined, but it is distilled and made by yours truly.... It's something i've worked years on, and if sold would probably command the same price as that wine... They keep it here just for me..."

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

A spinner of tales indeed. Akun was building his fiction like George R R Martin foreshadows his charactor's deaths. With grand tension and an imperceptible end.

"Just for you? My my. You are a healthy spender, aren't you?"

She giggle and refreshed her palette. Ijaat might have known how to level a battlefield with a Force User, but he'd forgotten you can't out drink one. Karen could purge toxin's from her own body like a fart from Popo could clear a room. In an instant. Bah. No more metaphors! I mind is too dirty for this witty banter. Everything comes up sex jokes. ...And Popo farts. Blarg.

"And what is the magnificent present that you so humbly find yourself in today Master Akun? The past is grand and enticing enough but nothing is more expedient than the present. Wouldn't you say?"

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ijaat shrugged at the spender comment, and nodded in agreement to the comment about the present, tapping the side of his nose with a long, twice broken index finger from his right hand, smirking a bit.

"I am hardly that big of a spender... I founded the bar... Built it from a ramshackle cantina ran by a drunken hutt middle-man into this glorious place that my Rodian friend runs for me as a favor. In truth, everything but the deed is his now. I am just humored and treated well when I come here... I'm often too busy out hunting a certain Sith Lord that was kind enough to cut me open, torture me, and leave all sorts of fun vong biots behind in my anatomy... I'm fairly certain i'm not supposed to stand too close to toaster ovens and microwaves now-a-days"

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

[member="Kad Tor"]

Eliza could tell this particular Mando'ad wasn't very happy about the status of things. I mean who could blame him really. She felt the same way about her beautiful homeworld of Corellia being destroyed, but didn't wear it on her sleeve. Maybe it was something deeper than that with him that was eating at him. There was a lot hurt in the world of a personal nature going on these days as well… That was another thing she didn't wear on her sleeve; the pain of losing someone that meant something to her. Only the bottom of a whiskey bottle knew her true pain. Work. Work is what consoled the smuggler these days, and here was a possible job to line up. Though something was off a bit about it, or him, or both.

"I always aim to please the first time, otherwise it's not worth the effort, darlin'. Though really, why risk going offworld through enemy territory to get your beskar when it's available right here on Mandalore or in the sector? Unless you're not really going after that… " Lizzy said with a skeptical sienna brow raised, then drained the rest of her mug and motioned to the bartender for another ale with a shot this time.

"In any case… If you have the credits, I'll take you where ever you want to go, just I prefer to keep the dark side entanglements to a minimum. For that, it'll cost you double and then some."

 

[Kad Tor]

Right, this one was smart, good to know. Honestly she didn't seem to care if he wanted to go elsewhere, but her question did show she suspected his motives. As she pointed out, if he wanted beskar, there was always the planet they were on. Her intuition was right. Kad had actually gotten word his riduur may still be alive. The fact Satine had reappeared gave him some semblance of hope. Unfortunately [member="Briika Hokan"] had not found her lost partner, and found another to call riduur. This trip would be what Kad needed to truly move on.

"Truth," he said draining the rest of the ale and motioning for a shot of whiskey and another pint, "since it's going to come out anyway. I'm looking into a rumor. I lost someone very close, as did many in this galaxy, and I need to investigate these reports if I'm going to get past it."

Kad popped a few more nuts in his mouth.

"The beskar is to make a gift for a new member of ner aliit, and since what I want to check out is on the way, I was thinking I could kill two birds with one stone. I'm willing to pay whatever you want, and can assure you if we run into dark side trouble, I can even the odds a bit."

Yeah Kad was force sensitive and the floating whiskey glass would tell Eliza what he meant by that.

"The name is Kad Tor, and who might I have the pleasure of hiring for this little excursion of mine?"

Kad eyed the pool table.

"We can always haggle over the price while sinking a few balls into the pocket..."

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Jsc]

Ah. Bar owner, drinker, and Renaissance man. Now it was all starting to come together. He was starting to put all the cards on the table. Funny how that works? Gosh. She really stop thinking so competitively all the time. Not everybody in the galaxy was out to kill her. Not every stranger that approached was an assassin. Roberts was starting to play every social interaction like a game of chess. Winner take all. It really wasn't healthy. She needed to open up more often. Not keep one hand under the table all the time. So to speak.

She put the shot down and nodded,

"Well. I'm afraid there isn't a thing in the world I could for you then. My bar was blown up with the planet that carried it. Most of my customers and suppliers too. My husband and I had purchased the place on a loan too. Good thing the bank bit the dust as well, otherwise I'd probably still be paying for the place today. Heh."

Karen smirked. It was a sour smirk. A joke built on the deaths of millions. Bankers and bar owners alike.

"No. These days I'm a gun runner along the Rimma Trade Route. Out into the Southern Expanse. I never make it up here to the Iron Worlds very often. But? Your smith's are always in high demand for the war economy. Your people have talented hands, you could say. I've never seen better metalwork anywhere else. And I've been places. Trust me."

She nodded with emphasis. Where there was Beskar, there was money to be made. And true enough. When it comes to iron shaping? Nobody beats a Mando.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]