A Fight to Remember

[Tribunal Power]

When the droid rebooted, she watched the progress on her datapad. Nevertheless, when he jumped up, Cerise nearly leapt out of her skin, plopping backwards onto the floor from her crouched position. As the room spun around her, she decided she should probably just lay there a while.

The droid thanked her, and she held up her hand giving him a bloody thumbs-up, mumbling something unintelligible. Then a man came by and said something about an alibi. "Alibi? I'm not even sleepy," she muttered, snickering drunkenly to herself.

Another man came to her and said something about having a look at her. At first, she figured it was a sexual jab, but then he bent over her and started poking and prodding her face. She realized he must be a doctor, and she quit squirming. Even lying on the floor, she still felt like she was swaying with the room, but the doc seemed to have perfect balance. Turning her head to look at him, she nearly squeaked-- he was handsome, and he was good at what he did.

Then he started cleaning her hand. The warning was appreciated, but it didn't stop the groaning and grumbling as he cleaned the wound. When the needle came out, she went wide-eyed and completely silent, looking away from him and trying not to move a muscle (but still swaying, of course). Once the stitches were complete, she looked at her hand with a disconnected fascination, and peered in amazement back to the man. "Catgut," she said to him, pointing to the thread in her hand, as if only to prove to him that she knew what it was called. "Do they even have cats on this planet?"

He gave her a wink and she blushed a booze-soaked red, looking away bashfully. Usually a drunken Cerise would make an even more shameful innuendo regarding lollipops than a sober Cerise, but she was in fact so drunk that all she could do was giggle like a little girl and do her best to flirt back with limited use of her brain.

The doc began to walk away, and Cerise gasped, scrambling haphazardly to her feet to follow. Right as she was about to say something to him, she heard booze being poured, and she snapped her attention to the table where those other guys that were in the fight had taken a seat. Dragging herself to them, she gave them a stupid smile and a tip of her lopsided hat, slumping into a chair and reaching for one of the glasses. "A lady nefer turns down free boose," she slurred, "but I may already be jus' a li'l drunk. My head an' my knuckles hurt-- does anyone else's heads and knuckles hurts?"

 

[Chairdor]

Again and again and again Hiro attempted to access the full allotment of data he had just seen, the strange video he was projecting, the one about to give him his purpose, his reason for being. Who was that old man, he seemed in every way familiar, which makes sense because he was Hiro's creator, but he didn't have a name, he needed a name. Trying a back port hacking attempted only caused a surge of denial packets jarring the droid's processor for a moment, whatever this video contained was extremely sensitive information, not to be accessed lightly. Noting the files location and flagging it for later cracking, Hiro gave the repeatedly refused access attempts a rest to join the others.

Hiro noted, with some fascination, the doctor's swift progress in fixing up the slightly battered and intoxicated woman, while he himself was intoxicated, his dexterity unmatched by several sober surgeon's whose footage the droid swiftly compiled. As the doctor finished the intricate stitch job, Hiro looked over the semi-stumbling woman and noted her bac was a bit higher than even the average in this cantina, that average ultimately brought upward by wookies who could drink tankards without breaking a drunken sweat.

Looking to the friendly fellow setting up a table for the trio Hiro tipped his hat in note of Ralo's earlier thanks and swiftly walked to the bar to get his own drink of choice. Sitting down with the others, Hiro produced a small glass of black oil, taking off his mask and sipping it gingerly. Going down a hidden pipe near his voice modulator, this small amount of oil wetted his facial structure allowing the droid to make human like facial movements. While his face was dented and cracked all along, and pure white from the blast of desert sands, it did still resemble the humans who had created it in a fashion.

"Well look see, we had our fight, but that aint gonna stop us good folk from drinkin now is it?" Hiro noted with a bit of a smile, quite literally a bit as some motors strained by the ion blast refused to move giving the droid the look of a stroke victim, noting this irregularity, the droid swiftly pulled his hat forward attempting to conceal his ugly mug as best he could before continuing, "I'm Hiro, for those of you that didn't catch it or forgot it, which I'd forgive cause some of yall took quite a beating to the noggin."

 

[YOLT]

Len chuckled. Drunk women...ah the good ole days. The distant past was forgotten when the droid spoke. Remembering his acquisition, he brought out his bottle of bourbon. Reading over the label he smiled"Ah,the good stuff, huh?"

Cheering his luck, he downed a gulp straight from the bottle, swaying as the strong taste hit him. Man, dat stuff's so good it'll make you tongue slap your eyeballs out."

Setting the bottle on a table he half-stumbled, half-walked over to the droid, the bourbon hitting him head on as it seared it's way down." 'm Leonard. Nice ta meetcha, Hiro." the amount of booze made his already thick accent even thicker, until his words were slurred by the mixture.

He stuck his hand out to the robot in politeness.

 

[Topher Ridge]

Ralo just chuckled again at the ridiculous accent of the droid as he introduced himself as Hiro. As the doctor freely drank a bit of Ralo's and a bit of his own booze he eventually slurred out that his name was Leonard. He poured himself another glass of whiskey and quaffed it in one go, finally starting to feel the effects as it burned down his throat.

"Pleasure to meet you both, names Ralo."

 

[Tribunal Power]

"Cerise Hollyce, thatswat my name is. And you, sir," she said, jabbing a finger at Hiro, "have a bit o' ionic charge left in your face. How'd you like a good magnetic purge? It'll fix that shit right up." She pulled her datapad out, then hesitated as she keyed in a few things. Remembering that a magnetic purge to a droid's head would probably wipe its memory, she reconsidered. "Did I say magnetic purge? Cuz I meant a countercharge pulse. Yeah, that'll work."

She tapped keys furiously on her datapad, turning to the droid. If he objected, he'd have to speak up, because Cerise didn't seem to consider consent; why wouldn't he want a counterpulse charge? For a human, it was sort of like a weak stungun, except it was set to counter the charge that was already in the droid's system to neutralize it. It would restore his facial motors, and any other counterparts still affected by the residual ionic charge, to normal functioning capacity.

 

[Chairdor]

Hiro continued to lean forward hoping none of the gathered folk wouldn't notice his rather obvious malfunction, then he began to realize every last one of them was drunk, beaten, and laughing about it. Hell, they all had some malfunction going on. So leaning up he continued to sip out of the good side of his mouth, it twisted upward in a half smile which increased as Len said something illogical about eyeballs, the droid wasn't able to properly process must humor, he did however understand basic puns and illogical phrases and how to respond to them.

Hiro shook the doctors hand vigorously his own speech now slightly impeded by his shock, "Howdysh friend I-I-I It's a pleasuuuuure tomeetya," Releasing the doctor and turning toward the hard drinking Ralo to give him a wave, "You surshe as spit ki-ki-ki- beat up those Mando's," he commented before noting Cerise was attempting to gain his attention.

When he heard something about a magnetic purge, he nearly jumped back his already damaged memory in no need for a systems shock then he heard instead she meant to give him a counter charge pulse and adjusted his hat about to say something like 'are you sure' when it began. It was a moment of total paralysis for the droid, it was not a terrible feeling due to any pain sensation, but simply because it made him feel helpless, useless. It was over in seconds however and upon being released from Cerise's shocking action, Hiro pressed his metallic hand to his battered face and slowly but surely began a systems check. This was quite involved as every part of him moved just a bit too and fro including even the smallest motors in his face causing a menagerie of grotesque expressions to emanate from the droid. Within the logical bit of Hiro was impressed with the woman's instantaneous diagnosis while heavily intoxicated, but was still disappointed in the lout that was Hiro for allowing her to do that without checking her background or history in repair.

Fully functioning or at least in the high nineties Hiro smiled a full smile finishing his oil so that he might slip on his mask yet again, the rubber curvature of the gas mask more a face to him then his own face before responding, "Well thank you more than kindly miss that was a mighty fine thing ya did for me, I feel fit as a fiddle,"

After this thanks, Hiro noted Sehi was walking over toward the table with three special drinks and what appeared to be an extension cord, laying the drinks on the table Hiro noted they had a bit of blue flame atop them and if his chemical composition detection was correct, would smell heavenly. He himself could not taste or smell, so he focused on the extension cord which he quickly plugged into his back with a tip of his hat to the kindly bartender, "Thank ya miss, but I don't remember any of us orderin these particular drinks,"

"They're on the house Hiro, you and your buddies I figured deserved something to dull the pain tonight," she said as she back off and returned to sweeping the bar. Hiro noted that the same song was playing and while loops didn't really effect him and were actually quite efficient, he did no that living beings tended to enjoy variety in their listening experience thus when he noticed Sehi grew close to the blaring juke box he called out, "Pardon miss, but you mind changin in to B-13," she looked at his selection, smile then clicked it into place, the song began sweetly and Hiro noted the response it usually gave him, one of memory that could not be requited with data, something lost to him only barely grasped by this song. As it began he swayed his hand from side to side checking his metronomic function, but to casual observers it might look like he was keeping time with the song, and in a way he was.

"So y'all what brings ya to Corellia?"

 

[TAC]

"So y'all what brings ya to Corellia?"

Thump.

The door to the cantina opened quickly, slamming into it's port rather unnaturally. It was dark outside by this time, although the sky was full of ships seeking refuge after the Battle of Coruscant destroyed their homes, their lives. The street was filled with out unnatural lights, whether it be from shops, cantinas, or street lights, which gave an unnatural shadow to the man who now filled the doorway.

After the barfight that had just ensued, it was expected that the show was not yet over. As this man, who had a certain air about him, filled the doorway, the eyes of all of those in the establishment went between the five new accomplices and this new man. A new fight? An old friend? A friend of those they had so soundly walloped? The law? They were all questions that were running through the minds of the bar's inhabitants as they waited to see what would happen next.

Instead of anything dramatic, however, the man simply walked over to the bar. Helping himself to a glass and the tap, the man turned around in the stool he was sitting in, taking in the entirety of the situation he had just walked in to. "Well," the man said, his Corellian accent thick, "Seems like you all have been having fun. Did anyone call CorSec, or are we safe from a round two of your little fighting?" The man grinned at them all, his blaster at his hip and the glass up to his lips as he took a long swig.

 

[YOLT]

"So ya'll what brings ya to Corellia"

Leonard sat on a table as he replied bitterly, "Divorce. Don't wanna talk 'bout it. Set maself up a shop down the street a bit. Been here a couple a months."

He turned down the concoction Sehi had mixed up. He was already almost three sheets to the wind, and wanted to be somewhat coherent for his company.

When the doors opened and in walked a new comer Leonard tensed a bit. He didn't really know what it was about the man but automatically Len became cautious. For one the bar was trashed and the only people who had stuck around was the five of them. By now everyone in a five mile radius would have heard about the Mandos and the bar brawl. Nobody up to any good would be crawling in after what had gone down. So when this guy came walking in talking about CorSec...it didn't feel quite right. Instead of speaking to the man at the bar he just waited for somebody else to answer him.

 

[Topher Ridge]

Ralo nodded thanks to Hiro at the complement.

"Ah Mando's like to talk a big game, but they're nothing compared to some of the criminals I fought back home. As far as why i'm here...to be honest, I"m not really sure what brings me anywhere. Ever since I left my home I've been trying to find bounty work, but I kinda have a bad habit of jumping into things I shouldn't. I'm sure Cerise noticed that herself."

Ralo just chuckled and raised his glass to Cerise, and graciously accepted the free drink offered by Sehi. He blew out the flame and threw it back, savoring the sweet flavor and powerful burn. He opened his eyes and realized how strong the drink the was. If he hadn't been sitting, he'd probably be swaying.

"To be perfectly honest with you Hiro, I've just been looking for something worth fighting for, maybe to bring a little bit of real justice back into the galaxy."

It was then the newcomer burst in. Ralo eyed him for a moment and shrugged as he asked his question.

"Ahhh you're good pal...we...we kicked the bantha turds outta the guys who 'started' the fight"

Ralo laughed and gave big air quotes as he said started.

 

[Tribunal Power]

She nodded with a big stupid grin to the droid as he thanked her, and fumbled her datapad into its pouch on her belt. She was startled by the heat of a fire, and watched with wide eyes as the flaming drink appeared before her like a mirage. For a moment she just watched it, fascinated with the fire like a moth, but eventually she took a deep breath and blew it out, lifting the drink with a curious expression.

Cerise heard her name and looked up to see a man beside her saying something about a fight. She saw him fight once-- it was at a bar, she recalled, and he whooped up on a bunch of mandos. Or was it robots? She couldn't quite remember-- it was ages ago. That stupid grin came back as she gave him a nod and clinked her glass, some of the hot liquor sloshing over the edge of her glass. She lifted it to her lips and took a breath, getting ready to down it...

...When she caught a whiff of the alcohol, and felt her stomach turn. She 'urped' and set the drink aside, blinking away some dizziness and slumping back in her seat. Maybe she should wait a while before she drank anything else.

Then some fellow came in with his twin brother. Both their mouths moved when they talked, but she only heard one voice. How did they do that? She wanted to watch them more closely, but they kept spinning so quickly that she couldn't get a good look. Giving up, she laid her head down on the table. At least that wasn't spinning.

 

[Chairdor]

Hiro simultaneously calculated reasons for enjoyment in the song and good company, reasons to express sympathy to Leonard the good doctor in his broken life, and idealism when Ralo expressed an interest he had heard expressed not too long ago by one "Rowdy" fellow he had met on Bespin. As all this occurred, Hiro noted Cerise's decline in consciousness and made sure to monitor her vitals in case she left the building brain activity wise. Alcohol was a curious drink, he had memories of a philosopher saying once that it was the cause and solution of all life's problems yet curiously Hiro only seemed to register the problem causing half of it. Still it brought joy to some which was worth it's weight in troubles, he supposed.

Then a thump came at the door, at this point the police had cleared out, some to take off their uniforms so they could get into their own bar fights. Hiro at first predicted one officer was merely returning to oversee that the bar had no late night visitors wishing to take their revenge for lost fisticuffs's out on Sehi or her tavern. He was quite wrong however, while the man who entered had an air of confidence and authority about him, something the droid diagnosed was likely due to his posture and deep voice, he was not in fact an officer but merely another drinker in a long line of drinkers to do what they did best. He came in with a question that Ralo happily answered, Sehi heard it and gave a knowing smile while Hiro eyed the newcomer.

He didn't seem to want trouble and it was highly unlikely anyone in this group wanted to give him some. As Cerise's head fell to the table, Hiro noted how subdued the action had become, how quickly heart rates and hormones elevated from the stimuli of the fight had instantly returned to normal. The droid found it odd how quick life sought normality, often times against all odds. He processed to no conclusive end many times, if this feature made them strong or weak.

As Hiro surveyed the bruised and drunken lot he had fought with moments ago he looked over at the newcomer and said, "You know this table seats five friend, and I spect if we don't play Pazaak or some other game Cerise here is bound to fall sleep and never wake herself up,"

 

[YOLT]

Leonard hopped down off the table,"Well, I guess ya'll can play. Ima just gonna watch, 'cause I ain't one to play cards much."

He asked Sehi for a cup of water, and with it downed a pill to help with his headache coming on. You'd think as a doctor he'd know better than anyone what drinking did to the body. His thing was more 'do what I say not what I do'.

Walking over to the bar near the jukebox he let the song end before looking through the selections. Finding one he liked he motioned to Sehi, trying to keep it a surprise in case that droid fellow knew what it was. Sehi not recognizing it shrugged and put the old song on. The first cords of the familiar song reach Leonard's ear as he sat down at the booth beside the Paazak table.

 

[TAC]

The newcomer just nodded at the response, his eyebrow raising slightly at the comment under air quotations. In his younger years, the man might have been inclined to have a problem with that. Times were simpler, these days- or at least in that regard. He wasn't CorSec. There other that were assembled didn't talk much, most likely on account that he was a newcomer, but that didn't bother him a bit.

An offer came from one of the men, who they seemed to look to a little bit, and he invited the Corellian to the table.

"It would be a shame," the man replied, "if there were a fifth seat and it remained vacant." He pushed himself away from the bar with his hips, walking up slowly to the seat that had been offered. Pulling it back, he set the glass on the tabled and eyed each of the drunk, motley crew. He did an odd sort of laugh-scoff and took his seat. "The name's Seth Lankost," he said.

 

[Topher Ridge]

Ralo just chuckled and set his bottle aside.

"Yeah sure, I could go for a game or two. It'll give us a chance to get to know each other."

He scooted closer to the table and got ready for the game.

 

[Tribunal Power]

Cerise lifted her head lazily as the people around her discussed a card game. She pulled herself to sit up, laying her arms heavily on the table. ”I’m in. You’re all in for an ass-whooping now. I’m a beast in po-zark.” She cleared her throat and straightened in her seat, trying to compose herself as she added, ”This is the game where you count to twenty-one, right?”

Turning her head to the newcomer, she smiled stupidly and replied, ”Hi, Seth! Cerise Hollyce. You can call me Holly. Only you, and nobody else.” Turning to the others at the table, she eyed them suspiciously. ”And the doc. Only you and the doc.”

The drink that she had abandoned earlier was still in front of her. Blinking away some of the fogginess as she peered at the liquid, she wondered how it got there and where it came from before picking it up between her thumb and her index finger. It was like magic.

 

[Chairdor]

Hiro nodded at the doc as he politely declined, ain't no shame in being bad at cards, rather the shames in playing anyway and blaming bad luck on your losses. Hiro's internal logic agreed in a different sense, noting most were fools to play cards because no matter what your chances of winning could never rise higher than fifty percent depending on your number of adversaries, though in this case he quieted himself as there was other profit to be made here besides a friendly bit of credit exchange, the droid might learn something about these people, that being how good they are at probability and to compensate if they lack that ability, how good they are at lying.

He was glad the newcomer accepted his offer, the droid didn't even technically drink, but he seldom drank alone, "Glad yer joinin us pardner names Hiro, and the name of the game is-"

"Pazaak!" Sehi finished pulling up her chair immediately becoming the defacto dealer of the game instantly handing everyone ten cards at random to assemble their side decks, "So we playing for cash, Galactic Senate Rules, or maybe Nar Shadaa rules ha,"

Hiro took his side deck and began to look it over before asking, "Now I know the second one, but what in blue blazes is Nar Shadaa rules?"

Sehi laughed again before saying quite succinctly, "That's where you bet your clothes instead of credits,"

Hiro smiled at that and Cerise's unusual comment occurring about the same time as he slammed down his selected cards and handed them back to Sehi,

"Well I'm in favor of Nar Shadaa or Galactic Senate, the former only cause yall can just check my schematics if ya wanna see whats under my duster,"

 

[YOLT]

Leonard chuckled a bit at Cerise's comment. He glanced over at the Seth fellow merely to reference the name and face later on. He would never admit that he both liked her attention and found it amusing. He then caught the line of conversation from Hiro and Sehi.
...Nar Shadaa rules..

Oh good god
It took every ounce of manners, good raising, and self-control to not beat his head on a table and walk out when Sehi threw Nar Shadaa pazaak out there. He rolled his eyes and continued observing the game going on.

 

[TAC]

"Lets be civilized, for the moment," the newcomer commented. His eyes raised to meet each and every one of the other players' eyes, a grin spreading across his face. "And once I've beat you in that, we can see if you can hold up with Nar Shadaa rules."

The man chuckled a bit with the weighty comment, seeing as he had no clue who these people were or what they were all about. They had a good feel about them, though, and Seth often found that his gut was usually right.

"Who's dealin'?"

 

[Tribunal Power]

Cerise downed the shot, slapping the glass to the table with a heavy exhale and squinted eyes. She overheard the bit about Nar Shadaa rules, and let out a loud laugh. "Joke's on you clowns," she remarked, as if she was privy to some secret joke, "my clothes aren't worth a thing!"

She leaned her chest and arms onto the table, watching as they debated who dealt, and leaned her head lazily against the doc's shoulder, who was seated next to her. "I think... I think I maybe may be to drunk to deal, maybe. Someone else deal. Seth should deal. No, wait-- you, you should deal." She pointed at Ralo and nodded in certainty, saying, "I saw you cut a mando. If you can cut a mando, you can cut a deck. You should deal. He should deal, shouldn't he?

Leaning her head on the doc's shoulder again, she let out a soft sigh and smiled. Whispering in his ear, she said, "Psst. Doc. I'm drunk. You should tell him he should deal, because he maybe won't listen to a drunk lady."

 

[Chairdor]

Several Rounds, Card Games, and Hours Later

Hiro walked out of the cantina more refreshed than he had ever been in his life, it was like the feeling right after updating his software, pure bliss knowing that all was right in the world and that everything had improved. After laughing at the retellings of their valor in the bar fight, each tale more romanticized and outrageous than the last the group finally seemed to simmer down, mostly because Sehi kicked them out of course, but the droid was sure his new organic friends were a bit tired from all the happenings throughout the night.

As the new day began on Corellia, the sun peeking it's head above the horizon to warm the world and let it know it was time to get up, the droid readjusted his optics for the new light and looked back at his new friends, tipping his hat to them lightly, Hiro felt little need to express his feelings to the collective, he felt they already knew and he hoped they were feeling it too. Turning once more to the rising sun, Hiro walked toward the distant horizon, hoping he would rise, right along with it.