Casual Friday

[Rasputin]

It was a rather warm, and nice evening on the Smuggler's Moon (as nice as it'll ever be).The disgusting buildings looked a little less slimy and grummy today. The tourists, beggars and gamblers were a little less annoying. Even the barely breathable, polluted air smelled a little fresher today. This was because it was Friday, which Liran thought of as a holiday in a way. Of course, Liran would be spending this Friday in a nice little club on Nar Shaddaa, near the Promenade.

Liran would sit in a booth in the club, close to the back, sitting done there with his helmet off. He took a sip of his liquor, sighing in relief. But somehow, even with the success of his career, he did feel something he wouldn't have expected; regret. These were feelings he would attempt to repress and dismiss, but it never went away.

 

[Silver Cutlass]

In war, no one escapes unharmed.

These were the words that echoed through Lyon's mind as he took a walk through the Promenade of the Smuggler's Moon. Though this little section of Nar Shaddaa was half-decent today, the other sectors he had crossed through had not been. Though this crummy little world was renown for its criminal population, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of beings had taken up residence in the Refugee, Corellian, and Duros Sectors, all people who had been displaced from their homeworlds thanks to the war raging through the galaxy.

Now after the battle of Coruscant, it seemed the war was nearing an end. The Alliance in retreat, the Jedi were no where to be found, and the Sith were jubilant at their victory. But for these people, the war had taken more than just their pride, it had taken their homes, possibly their families, and much more. For these people, nothing could fix what had been done to them. They could only lament at the freak turn of events that landed them in this situation.

This was all the more reason for Lyon's disposition towards the Sith to grow. They had started this war, and had used the Mandalorians as attack dogs to inadvertently cause these men and women the strife they were faced with. If he could, Lyon would be back on Mandalore, working on harvesting the next crop with his comrades, the people of Clan Skirata. But he had come here to Nar Shaddaa, tracking a big shot gambler who had murdered four people on Bespin. The job paid plenty of credits, and credits is what Lyon needed at the moment.

He had searched the Refugee Sector, the Corellian Sector, and the Duros Sector and could not find him, so the last plausible location he might be was within the Promenade, considering the local popularity of sabacc and pazaak here. Seeing a nice club on the strip he walked by, the Aliit'alor figured this might be a good place to start his search. Passing through the entrance and heading into the cantina, he looked around seeing a good mix of species. Heading over to the bar, to start, he flagged over the bartender. "You wouldn't happen to have some Mandallian Narcolethe here, would you?" He asked.

The bartender nodded. "Tough men like tough drinks. Yea, I got it." The Weequay male walked away, and within a minute came back with a glass full of Narcolethe. Paying him and tipping him for the quick service, Lyon looked around again as he took down a sip of the drink, enjoying the sharp trickle as the hard liquor went down his throat. He didn't see his target, but he did see someone else who intrigued him. Over in a booth near the back of the house, was a man sitting who also had a Mandalorian buy'ce on the table, wearing Mando armor.

Intrigued to see one of his own kind out this far, Lyon started towards him and stopped, hovering at the table. "Ner tat, this seat taken?" He asked, gesturing towards the empty seat across from him.

 

[Rasputin]

If it had been anyone else on this blasted planet, Liran would've told him to leave. However, this didn't sound like the usual gambler or con artist you'd meet in the Promenade. He had a gruff voice and judging by his choice of words, he was Mandalorian. This took the bounty hunter by surprise. You wouldn't expect Mandalorians to be on the Smuggler's Moon. The gruff-looking Liran would look up at Lyon, quickly examining him. He was hesitant to let him sit. It wasn't everyday a Mandalorian would walk up to you casually.

"All yours," said Avun.

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Lyon nodded back to him. "Vor'e." He replied, thanking him. Sitting down, the Mandalorian commando unclipped his buy'ce from his belt and laid it on the table, along with his drink. He examined the man, who's name he didn't know. He didn't look familiar, but judging by his armor he was more than likely Mandalorian. "Call me Lyon. What's your name, tat?" He asked.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran would look over at the man. He took note of his gear and weapons. This kid was packing heavy. The bounty hunter would take a sip from his shot of liquor.

"Call me Liran," said the Mandalorian swiftly, "What brings you to the Smuggler's Moon?"

 

[Silver Cutlass]

He picked up his glass of liquor and took another sip of it, feeling the burn as it trickled down his throat. "Bounty hunting. My Clan needs some credits, otherwise I'd be back home. What about you?" He asked in return, thinking about this Liran. He hadn't seen him before, or heard the name, but something about him just seemed familiar.

Turning his head to examine the club, Lyon still did not see his target anywhere. Maybe he'd show up soon; until then, he'd just enjoy a nice conversation with one of his own.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran would let out a slight sigh. He paused for a moment to ponder on that himself. Of course, he would turn to his fellow Mando'a, chuckling.

"You know, that's a good question," Liran voiced gruffly, "Me? I don't know too much anymore." By the way of his choice of words, you could tell he was speaking figuratively rather than actually answering Lyon's question. The Mandalorian would raised his shot and finish it up, feeling it wash down his throat and burn into his veins. He would let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"You say you're bounty hunting. Anyone in particular or are you just window shopping?"

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Lyon raised his brow at the man's response. It was a figurative answer, rather than a direct reply, which would require further assessment, as it peaked the Mandalorian's curiosity. In response to the man's question, he figured his questions could wait till later. Taking down the rest of the glass, Lyon wiped his mouth, feeling the cold durasteel against his lips. "Some gambler that was seen down here. Killed a bunch of people on Bespin. I was already out running some... errands, so I took the opportunity." He stated.

Looking back out among the crowd, Lyon noticed his man was still not here. He would come eventually, the gruff warrior thought to himself. "What Clan do you belong to, tat?" Lyon asked, curious. Most Mandos were back in Mandalorian Space, so to see one out this far was something unexpected.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran's eyebrow would raise upward. Admittedly, he was taken aback by Lyon's interrogation. No one had asked so much about him before. Most people figured he was just another faceless hunter without a true normal life, that his only purpose was to get as much credits as possible. He did have suspicions about this Mandalorian. What if he was trying to collect a bounty on him? While he did consider it, he dismissed it as mere paranoia.

"Avun. Clan Avun." Liran's tone was a small bit of sadness, but mostly anger. He would quickly turn to change the subject. "You said you're doing these bounties for your clan. Going through hardships?"

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Clan Avun? That name recalled a memory in Lyon's mind. He knew of a Clan Avun that used to inhabit the old city of Parja back home on Mandalore. He hadn't heard much of them in recent years, nor had he been to Parja in a while. His discomfort at the mention of his clan seemed to irk Liran, and he quickly changed the subject. "Clan Skirata was one of the first groups of verd on Coruscant. We lost many men in that fight, and since they made up a good bit of our work force back home, I'm doing this to make up the difference, at least for the moment." He stated.

He picked up the empty drink glass and swished it around, looking into its clear structure, wishing he had a little bit more alcohol in there. "I don't recall any verd from your Clan in the Core Worlds Campaign." He remarked. He wanted to press just a little bit more and see what further information he could gather, though he tried to do it in the most tactful way possible.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran would nod at Lyon's brief story about his clan's situation. However, when he continued to press onto the topic of his own clan, it made his stomach turned. He absolutely hated talking about the old days, especially with people he didn't know. However, the Mandalorian seemed like a good kid. And considering Lyon opened up to him, it was only fair that he returned the favor.

"The clan is..." he choked out, "not around anymore." He left it at that with a grim silence. He couldn't tell the story of that grim day, nor would he. He felt that was more than the kid needed to know anyway. Still, he felt sympathies toward the warrior. He was forced into the life, just like Liran was.

"You know, I actually recall seeing some guy here a few hours ago. Overheard him bragging about a big win on Bespin. He said he was gonna head off to Tatooine later tonight."

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Lyon frowned at the mention of Clan Avun not being around anymore. "My apologies, I hadn't heard." He replied, sincerely. It was always sad to see a Clan go into extinction, or near-extinction, as each Clan was different from one another, and that was what made the Mandalorians unique from everyone else in the galaxy. They were a mixing pot of different species, genders, and cultures, but they were still unified. At least, for the most part.

At the mention of a man from Bespin bragging about a big-win, Lyon's eyebrow raised. This sounded like his guy. "What did he look like?" He asked. If this was him, it would be simple to merely track down any starships with a vector for Tatooine and ambush him either on the way or above the desert world. That is, if this was really him.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran never really cared for being patronized, though he did appreciate Lyon's sympathies nonetheless. He was quite glad they were off the topic. He didn't want to talk about it. Not now, at least.

He would proceed to recall this bragging gambler. "Twi'lek, had a purple skin tone. Looked like he was missing a lekku and he had a patch over his right eye. Looked pretty tall, definitely packing on weight."

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Lyon's eyebrows raised once more. "That's 'Big Korbu' all-right. You wouldn't happen to know where the piece of filth went, did you?" He asked. If he had already been here and still was here, it might be just as easy to track him down now and apprehend him. The jacked-up Twi'lek was a gambler and a murderer, and the sooner he was off the streets the better. Before he answered, Lyon looked about the club, to check if any other men were listening. He didn't want any other hunters chasing after Korbu, and didn't need it either.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran would look around as well to make sure no one was looking. These places were notorious for peopling poking around. He turned to Lyon and lowered his voice. "Not typically kid, but we may be able to catch up with him. You know any contacts he's got on this world?"

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Lyon nodded his head in the affirmative. "He's a big shot gambler, so I did some searching. I've already checked out most of his contacts, but he seems to have some interaction with a dancer at some Club around here called the 'Lucky Lekku'. This was the first joint I located, so I poked around here first." Looking back again, the Mandalorian whispered to Liran. "The job is offering 15,000 credits. It's not much, but it'll go a long way in terms of supplies for my Clan, but if you're willing to help me, I can cut out 3,000 for you." He stated. He didn't want to give out the credits, and Lyon was a veteran bounty hunter, but there might be a chance of establishing Liran as a contact for future reference.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran would offer a nod. Most of the time, he would've haggled. However, he felt sympathetic toward the man, as well as admiring his loyalty to his clan. Without another word he stood up and pulled on his helmet. There would be a loud click as it magnetically clamped to his armor. He would take his gloved hand into a small pouch on his belt and take out a few credit chips, leaving it as a tip. The Mandalorian would lead Lyon out of the cantina, toward the parking area for speeders. He would jump in an old and clunky speeder. After waiting for Lyon to get in, he would start the engine, flying the speeder off into the sky lanes of Nar Shaddaa.

"The Lucky Lekku, you said? You know where that is?" asked Liran as he drove through the lanes.

 

[Silver Cutlass]

Following him out and into the speeder, Lyon shook his head. "Nothing really specific, aside from the fact that its around Harbor Spaceport around here." Taking his buy'ce off his belt, he put the helmet back on his head, locking it into place.

 

[Rasputin]

Liran would silently mumble, "Harbor Spaceport?" He tried to recall such a place, but nothing came to mind. He wasn't exactly entirely familiar with Nar Shaddaa. He only ever went to the Promenade or cantinas near it. Circling around the sky streets, he looked around for a spaceport. "Where's the spaceport?" he questioned.