No Karaoke Allowed

[HelloKitty]

“Well hello handsome”, she'd said in a low, mischievous tone as she briefly locked eyes with a tall man making his way over towards the bar. Letting out a soft chuckle while graciously whirling and turning on her toes, hair flying wildly about in a display of childlike, blissful enjoyment.

The young redheaded woman came to a sudden stop only a little while later, eyes gazing up at a man screaming profanities at her. Looking confused, it took her a few moments to realize she'd stepped on his toes. Without a moments hesitation she conjured a beaming smile, slid off his feet and extended a hand “Looks like I got off on the wrong feet with you”. She grinned, and there wasn't a trace of guilt in her voice, her body still swaying gently to the rhytm of the music. “I'm Rosalynn, let me buy you a drink”. Not waiting for an answer she reached for his wrist and immediately headed towards the bar, manouvering through the crowd with practiced efficiency. “Sometimes I get a little carried away, I'm sorry. What are you having my friend? Have you ever tried a Corellian Ale? I hear they're so good, the Corellian brewers have to put an alcohol lock on the machinery they operate so their employees don't run around the place wasted". She'd been speaking so quickly, by the time she finished her sentence he probably wouldn't have been able to get a word in.

 

[LaPurple]

Standing up, the Vurk looked down at the young ranger "Sorry kid, I gotta run. Forgot I made plans to procure a new friend. I'll catch ya later bud." Quickly he finished his drink. He placed a few credits on the bar counter for the barkeep.

Thanking the man, Kaltak then turned to Zaylos. "Sorry for the delay buddy, but I'm about to go pick up my mount! We'll have to race 'em sometimes. I think mine may be a little but different than expected." After listening to Kartan's response. He followed it up with a no and casually strolled out the door. Making his way down, the ranger headed for the corrals outside. Gobos were the first thing he saw along with the new horses and some other beasts which he spent a few moments looking at.

His mount however was in the back of the barn with a note pinned on his saddle. It read "Good luck breakin' him in boy. I sure as kriff couldn't!" A smile grew on his face. Then the Vurk three a lasso over it's head and opened the gate. Instantly the young horse began bucking all around the stable. The ranger was in for a long day.

 

[Latte]

Sasha slowly sipped a drink, not really tasting the crappy stuff, drunk as he already was. Sighing, he looked up as he spotted Zaylos Kartan. The man was still disgustingly fit and tan and charismatic. Everyone was following him around or stopping to talk to him in the bar. Making a disgruntled noise, Sasha looked down at his drink. This was ridiculous. He didn't belong her, among all these morons. He belonged on Serenno, with people of his own class and social status. People who felt no guilt about not helping those less fortunate. He didn't belong around all these people who constantly helped others when they needed it. Because these assholes were making him feel guilty for being an asshole himself. And he didn't like feeling guilty about the way he acted.

Standing up, he slowly approached Kartan, making a face and hoping he didn't seem too nervous or anything of the sort. He was Count Sasha Anin. Kartan was nothing next to him. A muttering comment passed through his head, picked up faintly through his telepathy. It made his face twist with building anger. The comment from Kartan about Sasha pulling "self-entitled bullcrap" evaporated not only his confidence, but his desire to try and make peace with the man as well. Forget that. If Kartan wanted to be that way to him, then fine. He just shouldn't expect any niceness or improvement from Sasha now. He slung the rest of his drink at Zaylos's head, dousing him in the alcohol. Whiskey, if he remembered right. "If I'm self-entitled, then you're just a dirty, uneducated, pathetic nerfherder!" Sasha snapped angrily, scowling at Kartan. If only he'd been sober. Then he might've realized he had no chance in Hell of beating or even holding his own in a fight with Zaylos Kartan.

 

[Zay]

Kartan leaned against the bar and looked to Vince as the smell of whisky reached his nostril just before the liquid covered the back of his head and neck. Vince's eyes were the size of hologlobes as Zaylos attempted to figure our who was behind him. Several thoughts went through his head very quickly, "Oh god is it Lexi?", "Oh God is it Jenny!", and finally "Who in the hell just wasted a perfectly good drink?!" Kartan turned around slowly so he wouldn't startle is attacker. When he finally laid eyes on the culprit he was confused. Sure, Sasha and he didn't see eye to eye on anything, but Kartan had thought after their mission they were on decent terms. Apparently, not...

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure, Sasha?" Zaylos's eyes were a mixture of confusion and burning rage. To his knowledge this pompus little peon had just ruined his favorite shirt with perfectly drinkable whisky. "I hope you've got a good reason for wasting Vince's whisky. If you don't I'm afraid we're gonna have words." Kartan's eyes burned into the servous looking little man.

Kartan was ready to beat the mess out Sasha, but something felt wrong about it. Sasha was an asshole, yes, but the uppity little punk didn't normally act out unless provoked. Zaylos searched the angry man's face. "If I'm self-entitled, then you're just a dirty, uneducated, pathetic nerfherder!" shouted the angry little man. Zaylos was further perplexed... He hadn't said those words aloud and while he may be dirty, he most certainly was educated, and decidedly not a nerfherder. Zaylos cocked his head to the side.

With an arched eyebrow Kartan said "Sasha... you are self-entitled... I've told you this countless times." Aola handed Kartan a rag and he nodded to her "Thank you Aola." he said as he wiped the whisky from his shirt. "Now, if you want to have a civilized discussion about your behavior then I would be happy to tell you exactly how I currently feel about your attitude and general self absorption." Zaylos shifted his weight from the bar he'd been leaning on to standing straight up. "Or, you can apologize, and I won't have to use your face as a mop to soak up the wasted whisky from the ground." he said with a smile as the thought of beating the mess out of Sasha played through his mind.

Kartan wasn't the type to seek out a fight. The Ranger had too much on his plate as it was to deal with something so frivolous as beating the crap out of Sasha, but the little maggot had seen fit to challenge Kartan in front of a room full of rangers and the Zaylos wasn't going to back down from him. At. All. The more Kartan thought about the current situation, the more it didn't make any since to him. Sasha had said "If I'm self-entitled..." the problem with the statement wasn't that Zaylos had that opinion of Sasha, but that he hadn't verbalized the opinion, he'd thought it. Zaylos was now curious and as loudly as he could think, the ranger thought.

"Really, Sasha isn't WORTH my TIME. He's nothing but TRASH and isn't worth wasting my time on." The trap had been set. If Sasha responded to this Kartan would know he was different. If Sasha didn't react then, perhaps Zaylos was crazy and had spoken his opinion of Sasha aloud.

 

[Latte]

Sasha's nostrils flared as Zaylos turned around, dropping the glass out of his hand and letting his hands curl into fists. Through his rage, he still had yet to recognize that Zaylos might end up smacking him down if this escalated in the likely path. "Well, to what do I owe the pleasure, Sasha?" Zaylos asked in an easygoing voice, despite Sasha blearily seeing the puzzlement and anger in his eyes. "I hope you've got a good reason for wasting Vince's whisky. If you don't I'm afraid we're gonna have words." Words? Kartan wanted to have words? Fine. Oh, fine. He'd give the asshole words.

Growling lowly as he listened to Kartan tell him how he'd said countless times that Sasha was self-entitled, the smaller man began outright shaking with absolute, frothing at the mouth rage. He was calling names, yet he wanted to have a civilized discussion? Who does he think he is? Ignoring Zaylos's following threats, his eyes narrowed. Beginning to open his mouth to speak again, he was interrupted by something mentally slapping him. "Really, Sasha isn't WORTH my TIME. He's nothing but TRASH and isn't worth wasting my time on."

His eyes widened in shock, and he was left blinking for a moment before he launched himself at Kartan, raising a fist and beating it on the bigger man's shoulder. "You bastard!"

 

[Zay]

Kartan's trap had worked. The smaller man launched himself in The Ranger's direction and then... uh... hit his shoulder. The attack was so full of anger so full of ranger that Kartan had expected some kind of a pain to justify a decent beating of this pompous telepaths ass, but ... the hit barely made Zaylos budge. Kartan set his drink down. Looked Sasha in the eye merely inches from the tiny man's face thought "I know what you've been hiding Sasha."

A smile broke out on the rangers face as he leaned back away from Sasha.

The Rangers were a tight knit family. They looked out for each other. They helped one another. Most of all they were honest with each other. In the battle that they waged against the Cartel you had to know what your partner's abilities were. Sasha here... had decided to keep his most precious ability a secret. Zaylos thought back on their mission and scowled. His blood boiled as he smiled at the tantrum throwing little man before him. The bourbon pumping through his veins demanded he set this punk straight with a stiff left had to the jaw, but he had already come to his decision earlier. Sasha wasn't worth the fight. By having his noes so high in the air that he couldn't even tell Kartan he had the ability to read mind Sasha had subsequently put them both in danger... Under his breath Kartan said "Karking moron." Zaylos threw back the rest of his bourbon and looked toward Sasha.

Zaylos stood 6'4 and weighed in at a solid 230. Add in his scar a deep scowl and his own flaring temper and Sasha would appear to be no more then a child before a giant. "I think you need to take a seat Sasha." Zaylos said in a voice that few in the rangers had ever heard. With his fists clinched tightly ready to swing on the little weasel Zaylos stood his ground. If Sasha attempted 'attack' him again he would floor the arrogant prick and throw him into the dirt just outside the bar doors.

 

[Slamdingo]

There were a lot of things Sasha was. A crack shot at distances that could make some people faint. Good at hand-to-hand when people decided to get too close for her comfort. Mute. And she'd even accept "something the cat dragged in" with the way she would come and go from the Saloon without saying a word - though referencing the fact that she never said anything might get her blood up when drunk. It wasn't like she tried to be the quiet one. Some people had things they liked to do but for Serenity it just wasn't talking, that was all, but it was hard to explain that to somebody who wouldn't even shake your hand when you needed physical contact in some form to talk to total strangers.

So not a lot of Rangers ever got much of a chance to talk to her. She'd show up at the Saloon as she had - some time ago - get a drink and maybe a few nights' rest as she re-stocked supplies. Then she would head out again and over the next few days a few more Ra'Fakki or other thugs would be found dead in the city or out in the wastes.

Dust from those same damnable wastes fell from the creases of the khakis she wore (instead of her much more preferred attire, that a planet like Zonju V made even her feel unsafe wearing), off the olive-drab pack across her back, and even some of it had managed to get into the fouling lines of the phrik paneling on her rifle's carrying case that she carried resting across one shoulder. Not to mention that between several rebellious strands of hair hanging in front of her face and the grime of days spent out in the waste on that same face both betrayed the woman had spent little to no time between getting to the fort and heading for the saloon-proper. She was tired, hungry, and -

- and there was a fight starting.

Maybe she couldn't do much. Maybe she could. Kartan was a big fellow. Serenity had seen him around before in her brief stays in the Saloon-proper since her arrival to the Rangers. But even a giant would stumble with a 50+ pound Phrik-covered rifle case to his face. And Sasha? Well Serenity wasn't one to judge the man, least of all for having what she was pretty sure was a woman's first name, but even she had a few inches on him. And the 50+ pound Phrik-covered rifle case.

Her approach was slow and steady as she drew closer with wary eyes watching for the fight to erupt into something much more violence.

Carefully the sniper put herself part-way between the two. And then a single gloved hand reached out to rest against Kartan's chest, palm flat, and fingers spread wide. Of course Serenity knew she wouldn't physically stop him without coming to blows, herself

"Stop." She'd never made a secret of her ability, but if some didn't know her well enough then perhaps speaking through the Force to them might still come as a surprise, "You're a mountain, Mr. Kartan. Just what do you think he's got up his sleeve to hurt you?"

And then doom on the feet of the unfortunate who stood to close as Serenity dropped her right arm. With it, the rifle case. It fell to the ground beside her with a heavy thud and the arm that had once held it shot out to grasp for a handful of Sasha's shirt. Assuming she got a stable grip on him, she'd look to lock eyes with him.

"And Mr. Anin. I'd expect a lot better." A frown came to her face as if to show her voiceless disappointment.

She'd do her best to keep between the two, with one hand on Zaylos' chest, and the other gripping a handful of Sasha's shirt. If either hoped to throw another punch then they'd have to, literally, go through Serenity first to hit the other.

 

[Latte]

Sasha glowered at the woman who had grabbed him by his shirt, nostrils flaring again. "This is a new shirt," he hissed angrily. He tried to jerk away, but her grip didn't budge, and he snarled. "I demand you release me this instant! This is business between him," he jabbed a finger at Kartan, "and myself! I'm going to kill Kartan with my bare hands! Now, let go of me!" His voice was slurring a little, though the vitriol contained within was no less potent. In vain, he tried to wriggle away again, then surged forward in an effort to get at Kartan. He looked more like an angry cat than anything, especially compared to the large man Kartan was. Sasha had no self-preservation in his mind then. Only the desire to bash Kartan's head onto the bar.

 

[Tristar]

Calico was done. For the duration of the argument and the rising voices, he was just simply sitting in one end of the bar, fending off a devilish woman with little to no success. Came a time like this that he really wished that he didn't take off his armour, but most would consider it prudent or downright rude drinking in their Beskar'gam, so he relented: he wasn't interested in a fight.

So of course it came as a rude shock when two men, one arguably larger than anyone he'd ever seen antagonising someone whose name he only caught; Sasha, right? Whatever their names were, they were causing a large enough ruckus to wake up a Krayt Dragon from hibernation and frankly it was starting to get on Calico's nerves.

The one purpose you came to a bar was to drink, socialise (He prefer to leave that part out, honestly whenever he could.) and watch the world go by on the holovids.

If they wanted to fight, they might as well bring it outside where the both of them could have their fight in peace, but nooooo, had to do it here. Rude.

Sighing, he took a deep breath and fended the woman away again before finishing his pint, pushing off the bar and made his way to the other end where all the commotion was going on. Now that he was at the scene, he finally got the bare gist of it: a woman was stopping these two men from tearing each other apart.

Why they were fighting or how it came to be wasn't important. They were annoying him. Calico doesn't like it when people annoy him.

Growling to grab their attention, he right hand into his jacket, where a sizeable bulge can be spotted; he knew the rules and he knew what it meant to pull it out in a public location. But damn if he wasn't going to try and forcibly coerce these bastards into submission, or at least temporary truce. That, and he didn't have a magazine slotted in it; another of their damn rules. But it did have enough power for one shot, and at this close a range he wouldn't miss.

He never did.

" 'Scuse the **** me, you two gentlemen kindly take this outside? This here is a bar. This here is not where you fight. I know it's called a barfight for a reason. But I also know it's called homicide for another. Now, would you kindly sit down, shut up and drink, or bring this outside where the both of you can beat each other to death.

Thank you."

 

[Slamdingo]

Serenity's eyes darted between the two men, each effectively more than an arm's length apart, though Sasha didn't seem to be focused on breaking her hold very well, and if Kartan had made a move to do so by now she definitely would have realized it without even needing to look at him. Oh she could have let Sasha go, she realized. They were all Rangers and all capable of handling themselves to some degree. She was - reasonably sure that Kartan could restrain himself - and that Sasha wouldn't go too far, either. But the fact was that Serenity had placed herself between these two and unless she wanted to get a fist to her face, she had to -

" 'Scuse the **** me, you two gentlemen kindly take this outside? This here is a bar. This here is not where you fight. I know it's called a barfight for a reason. But I also know it's called homicide for another. Now, would you kindly sit down, shut up and drink, or bring this outside where the both of you can beat each other to death.

Thank you."

Great this was just . . . what she could use, Serenity realized. She looked to Sasha, to Kartan, to the new arrival with what she could only guess was a gun in his pocket, and the plan began to formulate. Serenity's hand left Kartan's chest, essentially turning anything he wanted to say into a one-sided conversation unless he decided to grab her. Serenity pointed to the new arrival on the scene, Calico she thought his name was, and pointed to Kartan. And with that done she grabbed the new shirt of Sasha's that he seemed so offended at her grabbing and stood to be in front of him almost entirely.

Moving to wrap an arm around his neck, she attempted to draw in the flailing and angry young man in an attempt to look him square in the eye. Her face was passive, well-schooled to avoid any of their conversation being betrayed unless Sasha decided to start voicing one or both sides of it.

"You should stop, and sit down. Breath easy. Or I can sit you down instead."

 

[Zay]

As Kartan attempted to back down Sasha without actually harming the little guy a woman he didn't know walked up and tried to play mediator. She placed a hand on his chest as if that would stop him and then did something rather stupid. This complete stranger decided to try and communicate with Zaylos directly into his mind. Kartan looked at the woman shocked at her intrusion of his privacy and shut his mind to her as forcefully as he could. Zaylos didn't take kindly to people butting in to his situations. He enjoyed it even less when they invited themselves into his mind. Luckily, his training with Kaythous would allow him to block any further contact with this woman. If she tried to break his barriers he would see her as an enemy. Kartan's mind was his own and anyone who attempted to enter without consent was in the wrong.

As he blocked the woman's words from entering his mind another loud mouth newb to the Rangers decided it was time to put in their two cents. Had they not seen Sasha throw the drink? Had they not seen the little man attack him. Had they literally just looked over and made an assumption based on the sizes of the two with the dispute? Of course they had. This second mediator was worse then the first. Running at the mouth as if his words meant anything to Kartan. Not to mention his misguided attempt at forcing the altercation to end by holding a gun in his jacket. That was the act of a petty thug, real men spoke with their fists not with hidden weapons. "Moron." Kartan thought as he completely dismissed the newest new comer. Was this the state of the rangers? When two bothers got into a dispute. A quick fight would completely end the problem. Leading to gruff hugs, slaps on the back and deeper bonds. That's the way it was On Zonju V. That's the way it was in Sathad'ra, and that's the way it was in the Rangers. Kartan and Sasha weren't in the wrong these two newcomers where. Not only had they seen fit to put their noses in someone else's business, but they seemed to think that the current location was some public bar in the middle of the city.... The bar they were in was their home. It was in The Saloon, The Waste Rangers secret base of operations outside Sathad'ra's city limits. Every being in this bar was a Ranger. No one else was allowed in or even knew the Rangers were here.

Kartan looked to the woman "Take your hand off my chest." He then looked to the punk with a blaster in his jacket. "Get that hand off your weapon before you get hurt." To think that a member of the rangers would actually be dumb enough to pull a weapon on another member baffled him. Completely and utterly baffled him. Kartan turned his back on the three people that had brought more anger to him in the past five minutes then anyone in the entire galaxy had his whole life, Vica Veszk included. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. It was clear they two new rangers had no idea what they were doing... and Kartan wasn't in the mood to teach anyone anything. The Ranger was done. He'd let someone else teach the new members the way of the rangers. All he wanted to do was leave.

The Waste Rangers are a force of justice fighting against the ever growing forces of evil in the independent planets. It was their mission to go out into worlds like Zonju V and fight the people who were turning potentially peaceful planets into criminal wastelands. It took special people to sign up for a losing battle, but those who did join entered into a brother & sisterhood that would go out of their way to protect their own. The Ranger's were a family. They had to be. If there was any kind of tear in the fabric of their family it could lead to the entire faction collapsing in on itself. As of right now Zaylos couldn't trust two people who tried to control a situation through intrusion and force. That was exactly what the rangers were trying to fight against.

Kartan turned back to Sasha "Looks like you're gonna have to try and vent your anger another time, Sasha and don't worry, your little secret is safe with me." Kartan said nothing to the other two and made his way toward the door. The frustration of the past few minutes had given him a migraine. It might be a while before the ranger showed back up around the bar. It just wasn't the same anymore. The burden of leadership had tainted his oasis on the the desert planet...

 

[Latte]

Antoine lifted his head up when he heard a shouting voice, letting his eyes take in the scene as he saw a young man--Sasha Anin, one of the most annoying bastards on the planet--throw his drink at Zaylos Kartan's back. He snorted and shook his head, unable to help the smile that crossed his face. It would be highly amusing to see a powerhouse like Kartan snap the twig Anin was. Kartan turned around and griped at Sasha for ruining his favorite shirt and wasting whiskey. Antoine had to agree on the whiskey thing. It was good stuff burning down his throat.

His mood soured a little when two Rangers stepped in separately to try and break up the fight. One was trying to physically break it up, and he could tell neither man was pleased. The other... Antoine let his forehead fall into his head in exasperation. The other was seriously trying to pull a blaster on Zaylos Kartan? Seriously? Scoffing, he stood up, if only to get them to back off Kartan and Anin before someone actually got hurt. Sure, Kartan roughing up Anin was one thing. That was basically how Rangers said hello and made friends. But come on. Pulling a gun on another Ranger just to break up a fight? Sure, Antoine had wanted to do it many times before. But he had self restraint.

Walking over to the group, he saw Zaylos pull away and storm out, with Sasha yanking himself away in disgust and slinking off to parts unknown. Oh, well. Stepping to be equidistant from the two butters-in, he crossed his arms. "May I ask why you thought it was good to get involved with a simple bar fight?" Glancing bemusedly at the gun-puller, he continued, "Are you sure you're in the right group, if you're going to pull a blaster on fellow Rangers? Perhaps you should become a pirate instead."

 

[Sterling Malory Archer]

It had been a long time since Quinn had a drink. Although, by his standards a long time could mean anywhere from ten minutes to a while day. As such, he really was looking forwards to sitting down and having a nice, warm glass of whiskey in the Saloon. That is, until the corellian troublemaker opened the door and came face to face with a very angry Zaylos Kartan. He shifted to let the man by, not even bothering to ask, and glanced inside. Well then. If Zaylos Kartan was THAT miffed, something fun had gone and happened without him. Quinn reached up and swept his hat from atop his head, tucking it under one arm respectfully, before entering the building fully and letting the door shut.

"Hunh. Figures I'd go and miss the party. What'd I miss?"

The Corellian pilot strolled on through the saloon, making a beeline for Antoine. His duster swishing a little as he walked and his hand dipping into his pouch for his flask. He unstoppered it and took a long swig. Ah... Never handle business sober. He offered the others a wide, kind smile and lifted the flask in greeting.

"Some sort of trouble friends?"