A Pilot And An Admiral Walk Into A Bar...

[Saul]

The Bastille-class station was, first and foremost, a battlestation. Being an Imperial design, there was little thought given over to the recreational activities of the hundreds, if not thousands, of personnel that traveled through it daily. Granted, Rhen Var was little more than a wasteland iceball floating in the ass end of nowhere. The desolate frost rock could easily have been forgotten if not for the presence of the station, and Kai'a was fairly certain that there was probably not more than a few hundred people passing through this station at any given time. This was the heart of Imperial territory, one of the most secure regions of space; no more than half a dozen patrol ships passed through Rhen Var on a given day.

Except for today. Today, Kai'a Hale was passing through Rhen Var Orbital. On a lesser note, Wraith Squadron and the Malevolence were also docked with the station. Perhaps the bars would be a little more crowded than usual. At least she'd be able to meet some exciting people she thought as she wove her way through the bustling corridors. She was off-duty, but her attire still spoke volumes - strapped with skin-tight syntex pants, an imperial grey military-style neo-leather jacket overtop a sheer blood red zoosha top. Kai'a had only been stationed her for a day awaiting reassignment, and that had driven her stir crazy. She was a fighter pilot - her ass belonged on something that pushed the G's and quaked with power, something high speed, that could kill her at any moment, that really made her feel alive - not this sluggishly boring place made of squares and circles.

The bar, as always, managed to fall below even her abysmal expectations for this place. She would have been surprised if they served her favorite drinks on a good day, but with all the knuckledraggers mulling about she'd be surprised if they even had a good shot of fire water. She crashed into the bar, jamming her shoulder into a man to squeeze her way to the front before grabbing the bartender by the arm, demanding he stop fixing a drink to take her order. "A shot of something strong," she commanded with a strength of a woman who would crush the man if he delayed her order, "tonight's going to be high speed."

She turned her back to the bar and skimmed the faces of the crowd. Scores of new people to meet, maybe a tenth of them would be mildly amusing. One group in particular drew her attention - a large number of men circled around one in particular. They were celebrating. She pondered to herself what that could be when the bartender tapped her should. She pivoted on a single bootheel to face him, slammed a credit chit to the counter and gently pinched his cheek before slamming the drink down her throat. She pushed off the bar and moved to a rectangular grav-pool table, grabbing a stick and teasing one of the men who looked in her direction with a look that challenged him: come here and show me how talented you are.

@Alhon

 

[Alhon]

"...so then he just barrels past me, throws Pierre out of his seat-"

"I didn't throw him anywhere" Austin interjected.

"Well, maybe not, Sir..." Max replied, his sarcasm unmistakeable "but you weren't pulling any punches." The Velmorian turned back to the others, engrossed in telling his story. "He brings the ion cannons up before Dreiz can say a word and fires at the frickin station!" There was a sharp intake of breath. "We thought he'd lost it, maybe killed the bleedin Emperor himself!"

Austin smiled. Max did have a flair for the dramatic. "As if" he said, taking a swig of his beer "I knew exactly what I was doing..."

"Says you" the ops chief replied, grinning wide "I think half the time you've no more idea than the rest of us".

Austin merely looked away in reply, stifling a retort. Events had proven him right, but he didn't mind being contradicted, at least not tonight. Max had known him long enough to have earned a few free passes and this was, after all, his last night in the junior ranks bar. Admirals did their socialising in loftier places, with more classical music and a little less grime. Austin would be lying if he said the prospect didn't appeal to him, but that didn't mean places like this would be easy to leave behind. There was a tradition and camaraderie to the way the junior ranks did things. He could only hope the Admiralty offered a little fun of its own.

For now, he intended to see his last night through in style. With Max the only one who knew of his newfound status, he might just manage to do so without landing in hot water, which was good. Very good in fact, because Austin had every intention of getting thoroughly drunk.

He took another swig of the beer, only his second, wiping a wayward drop with the cuff of his sweater. It was a tight-fitting crew-neck, garish by Imperial standards, with a sand coloured leopard print that stuck out from a mile. It had drawn more than a few looks from passers by, and worse from Max and lads, but Austin wasn't averse to courting controversy, particularly off duty. It was one of his favourites, with a fit that hugged tight and showed off his hard work in the gym. Such things counted now and then.

Glancing between two of the group, the young Admiral caught sight of a dark brunette standing by a nearby grav-pool table. Straight-backed and wearing a red top as bold as his own, she had an intense look about her. In fact, she was looking straight at him, cue in hand.

"Hey there" he said, almost to himself as he sidled towards her "almost looks like you're trying to goad one of us to come take you on...". Austin scanned for dogtags or insignia, but ended up taking in more than he bargained for. Her jacket was only military-look anyway, and revealed nothing she hadn't already planned to show off. "Am I right?"

@Saul

 

[Saul]

"You're here, aren't you? Do you feel goaded? Or maybe I need to be more obvious," she grinned at the man, scanning over his flashy clothing. He was peculiar, to say the least, but there was something about him that intrigued her. Not necessarily in a sexual way - no, in a deeper fashion. Something told her this man, more than any other in the bar, could actually be genuinely interesting.

"Entertain a girl and grab a stick, show me what you've got," she challenged him to a game, nodding to some cues racked up on the wall. Grav-pool was essentially the same as regular pool, only the balls floated. Settings varied - some models emulated the friction present on a fabric tabletop, others significantly reduced it to make for more surprising plays, while yet others altered the Z variance, allowing for dynamic, three dimensional plays - although the balls would always return to the plane of play. She'd allow him to make a choice in this regard as she plugged the chit in and activated the table before motioning to a waiter to come take her order for another round of drinks.

"Winner pays?" she looked at the man. "Unless you play for higher stakes?"

@Alhon

 

[Alhon]

"I'd say you're obvious enough" Austin quipped, reaching for a cue "but I hope you like your entertainment hard; i'm a dab hand at this. You'd have had a better chance with one of those jarheads". He nodded back towards his comrades, laughing and joking at a distance. A few of them had noticed his new friend, but they knew enough not to interfere for now. Besides, grav-pool was a game for two.

He leaned down to adjust the settings, glancing sideways at his opponent. She was a firecracker, that was for sure, not shy in the slightest. She had a serious look about her that was hot in its own way. Whether she had any skill to go with it remained to be seen. He decided to turn the settings to fabric emulation. Best to start off simple and get the measure of her, and it was a while since he'd played anyway.

She called a waiter over and Austin had to smile at the order. He might be wrong, but it sounded like she wasn't afraid of the proper stuff. Impressive.

Her question about the stakes was an interesting one; not for the first time, he felt as if she was testing him. "That depends..." he replied, "on what else you have to bargain with?". He had much and more beyond credits that he could stack on his victory, but she couldn't know that, just like he hadn't a clue what she had to her name. Hell, he didn't even know her name.

"Name's Austin by the way..." he added, hopeful he might her own in return.

@Saul

 

[Saul]

"I have lots to bargain with," her eyebrows furrowed as she folded her left arm across her chest and couched her right arm on her hand, twirling a lock of hair around a finger. Her response was filled with sass, as if to suggest that Austin had implied she had not much to wager. "Well, Austin, I'll wager myself. One question per ball, fair? First to sink the eight ball wins whatever they want," she grinned coyly as she elected to not give her name, a fact Austin would no doubt be frustrated by. If he wanted it, he'd have to come and get it.

She moved beside him, her eyes fixated on his, the dim light above the table illuminating rich chocolate irises beset by dazzling whites and flanked by wings of dark eyeshadow. She pressed her thumb against the console and the table hummed to life, ejecting thirteen colored orbs into a triangle hovering on an invisible plane above the table. Her eyes did not move from his even as the white orb set itself in place. "Your break," she stepped back, wringing her hands around the cue as she focused on the game before her. She had no idea as to this mans' skills, but his confidence exhilarated her. She only hoped he could live up to her own expectations. The waiter moved in with a tray of pitchers of starfire 'skee, setting them down on a nearby table without so much as a glance of acknowledgement from Kai'a.

@Alhon

 

[Alhon]

Wager herself indeed. This girl did not disappoint; she seemed to have a witty retort red hot and ready to go to anything Austin said.

"Whatever they want" he repeated, doing his best to look deliberately mischievous. "You may just regret that one...". He noticed the drinks arrive and sidled past her towards the table, slipping right through her personal space and holding her gaze all the way. He had her attention as surely as she had his and he quickly ran a hand through his crew cut hair, conscious of his appearance despite the dim lighting above.

Starfire 'skee never looked much, but always packed the same punch from the Core to the Rim. Austin downed the rest of his beer and poured both of them a glass from the nearest pitcher, finding himself in the mood for raising the tempo. Thumbing the point of his cue with one hand, he took his first swig of the liquid fire with the other, feeling it flow down his throat and light a fire in his chest. It was hard stuff. But he was an Imperial officer; you didn't get out of the Academy without developing certain tolerances.

"One ball, one question seems fair enough" he mused, bowing his head sarcastically "the Obvious Girl may have the same...". He set his glass down after a second gulp, breathing deep as he regained his focus to make the most of the break. He approached the table, setting up for the best angle, all the while under her scrutiny. Austin took more of her in with every minute, the flowing dark hair, the downturned lips, the muscle tone beneath those tight syntax pants. He was looking forward to finding out what his eyes couldn't tell. Revealing a little of himself would be a small price to pay.

Crouching and leaning low over the table, he gripped his cue and aimed slightly left of centre; a tactic he'd used in several games before. After two dry runs, he struck, sending the white orb lancing forward. It hit just right, but the balls scattered too quickly, with a couple hitting each other where he hadn't quite planned. He gritted his teeth, but relaxed when the green striped orb fell limply into the corner pocket.

Though more by accident than design, he had a second shot. He seized the opportunity, but hit too hard, knocking another orb sideways but failing to pocket it. It seemed a few far flung tours had left him a little out of practice.

"Well that's my first ticket" he said, standing straight and crossing his arms. "So what is it then? Daphne? Josephine? Shirley maybe?".

@Saul