Open Social Ceremony and Celebration

[Altair Din]

By the time Kalique came across him, he was in a bad mood. He was having a great time at the party, he had asked Astrid to dance, and now he was subjected to a brawl. His undershirt was half torn and covered in red blood, which wasn’t his of course. He had some black blood at the corner of his lip, and he spat some on the ground. He wanted to tell them who he was so they would shit themselves and know that they and their families were in danger for messing with him.

The tiefling looked over at the barkeep that suddenly said that they were ‘welcome’. Altair barely let him finish, the Force channeling as he jumped up and slammed the top of his head right against the Besalisk’s face. It was hard enough to knock him out cold right there. It didn’t matter how big he was, the tiefling was trained his entire life in hand to hand and raised from generations of Matukai. No one here would stand a chance.

He couldn’t remember the last time he got into a brawl like this, and his adrenaline was pumping. Altair almost felt like the old Sith he used to be, where he broke bones and shattered bodies without mercy. The tiefling had to take a few deep breaths, looking over at the bikers in a way that made it very clear he wasn’t their friend.

“Go make me a drink, bitch,” He hissed at one of the big, tattooed men, snapping his fingers to direct him to walk. No one told Altair where he did or didn’t go - he set the rules. And everyone here would be singing to the tune he set.

For now, Altair walked over and plopped down on a stool at the bar, everyone else giving him space. He was bleeding and he was furious, his great mood from before completely gone. He glared at the big man that was nervously mixing up a drink for him, his friends trying not to cry from laughter in the distance.

@LadyRen

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Jon relaxed slightly back in his chair. The next brave soul took the stage, choosing a totally different type of music. "No, thank you! You were great!" he replied warmly. He tapped his foot to the beat of the music in the background.

Their brief conversation was interrupted as several people approached Guin. He watched with amusement as they clamored for her attention. He knew she tended to stick more to the background, so seeing her be in the spotlight for once was pretty funny. She got rid of them pretty quickly. "Quite the fan club you are building..." he laughed, seeing other people trying to build up the courage to come talk to her.

"Oh.." his eyes got slightly wider as he was put on the spot. "Huh.." he thought some more, never really great with coming up with names. "...Guon..." he said, clumsily jamming their names together. "Yeah..Guon.." he laughed.

She leaned over and snagged some pretzels from a passing tray, and he realized he hadn't eaten anything in a while. He would have to track something down soon.

"You think you could come up with a better name?" he asked.

@Xorism

 

[Kalique Baize]

Upon the barkeeper's arrival, Kalique's mind was surely all over the place, but she absolutely didn't anticipate Altair's next move. Anger and frustration was suddenly radiating off him, or maybe it had been a while, but she only picked it up now.

Some Bikers backed up in fear, others raised a brow at the sudden turn of events, and before she even realized it, the peace offer of the bar keeper, perhaps even the owner of the establishment and most of his tough looking Biker attendants were turned into Altair's personal bitches.

She wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol that amplified his emotions so brutally, or whether he was truly pissed. She hadn't seen how the brawl had broken lose in the first place and so she could only assume it had been something bad.

The Knight-Captain followed inside, biting her lip and shifting into a defusing made instead. She didn't take a seat but chose to remain standing instead, a path was definitely cleared from where the Tiefling had passed through and the basses kept pounding.

Some Bikers soon began minding their own business, but others were still greatly amused. The tattooed man prepared him something strong as quickly as he could, however his hands were slightly shaking.

"Snacks?", he asked him, reaching down for a bag of spicy nuts. The mood had shifted so quickly that Kalique could barely keep up, her brain still processing what had just happened, but it seemed like the initial shock sobered her up a little after all.

She then hesitantly squeezed herself past a Pantoran and took a seat, the wild events of the night rushing past her. "I think I've seen a Indupuran street food stand" she remarked, slightly leaning over, wondering whether actual food would make up for this rather inconvenient encounter.

@Sreeya

 

[Max Dram]

Everything happened rather fast. Astrid seemed to have all she needed from their exchange. Six entered the frame, but was swiftly stolen away. Max was powerless, knowing he could do nothing to intervene. Any overt move would shatter a cover she had spent her life building. He stood impassive, a great force of effort holding him as she was led away.

Not for the first time he wished Six had not been a spy but a fellow soldier. It would have been hard yes, but not this hard. They could at least have kept in contact, with several pretexts to regularly meet.

Max was still wrangling with his frustrations when the strange offer came. The newcomer wanted to dance? He lowered his drink and gave the man a proper appraisal. Young, that was for certain. There was a wild energy about him too, which could be a boon or a burden. He had been hanging with Six too, perhaps he knew where she was at?

"That depends Drassk. You with this daddy or not?". If the guy knew what was good for him he would pick now to simper and renege on his bullish commentary from earlier. Max could dance with anyone.

@Zay

 

[Cipher 7]

Seven sank into the identity of Sven Drassk. Was it a way to avoid dealing with the anxiety he was experiencing? Yes. And boy did it fucking work. No malice or ill will polluted his expression as he laughed at Dram’s challenge.

With a cocked eyebrow Sven said, “Oh c’mon that was a harmless joke to someone of your caliber,” he smiled, “I’m serious about the dance though, I could use the distraction.” he said, nodding toward the dance floor.

The music changed and Sven could feel it in his chest. He popped his shoulders on beat and could feel it starting to move his hips. “I’m going regardless,” he said with a shrug, turning and heading toward the dance floor.

As soon as he hit the dance floor, Seven took over and his eyes flicked up and down the undulating bodies in the crowd. No crazy dancing assassin around. Good. He waited for the drop and fell into motion as the beat hit slipping right back into Sven and looking for a good time.

@Alhon

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Clearly a little flustered by the attention but a mixture of excitement, exhilaration and energy pulsing through her body helped subdue it. They had totally rocked it and even as the new track started, Guin happily glanced around as others took to the stage.

The agent had already dealt with an overly excited fan of her work once, after proceeding through several rounds of a slicerthon. So she was a little hesitant to resch out just yet, but that was a story for another day. Then again, if Guin was going to be in the public eye more, she considered, it would be part and parcel with the territory.

Guin burst into a chuckle as Jon submitted his proposal for their musical interest while munching on her pretzel. "I like it." She smiled. Now she wasn't expecting to come up with something funny, but the agent spent a few seconds in thought considering the question and following his theme. "Hmm what about Guiled Juxtaposition?"

The pair couldn't be more contrast, but side by side they'd managed to overcome every obstacle thus far and had totally kicked butt on stage. Giving him a chance to think about it, Guin checked her watch, glancing back to Jon. "If we hurry, I think we can still get that darts game you owe me. You in?"

@Raydo

/exit

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Still in a good mood, he found himself singing certain lines to the next song as people sang while she thought about a name for a moment. "Those are pretty big words. If they charge by the letter, we are going to get killed in merch costs." he shook his head while laughing. "God, you are such a nerd..." he teased a minute later when his intoxicated mind caught up with him.

He didn't have to think much about her question, his competitive nature already kicking in. He weighed his options, though, determining that Guin's drunken dart throws were likely less lethal than her drunken dance moves. "If you want to end the night in a loss...who am I to stop you." he grinned, pushing himself to his feet. "Let's go!" he said, walking towards the door.

Outside there were plenty of taxi speeders to take drunken partygoers wherever. They would find one easy enough. Once inside, he would tell the driver. "The Rusty Rifle, please." before leaning back in the seat.

/exit

@Xorism

 

[Kellan Solari]

The bartender plonked a highball glass of whiskey on the crowded bar in front of Kellan. The mere sight of the drink set his mouth to watering. He fished a credit from his formals and slid it to the barman with an appreciative smile. Cradling the drink in one hand, he turned and took in the raucous scene developing in the hall.

Regardless of rank or station, everyone in attendance seemed hell bent on getting off their respective coconuts. A collage of uniforms and insignias shook and shuddered on the dance floor and from his vantage point the event’s only missing attendees were decorum and restraint. He let a wry smile slip. He believed wholeheartedly in the Empire’s purpose. It was what drove him through difficulty and danger. But every so often, even iconoclasts could afford to let the mask slip.

He offered a silent toast and brought the glass to his lips.

“Easy there Lieutenant.”

A familiar iron grip encircled his wrist, halting his drink just shy of his mouth. Solari peered balefully into the mirthless eyes of Lieutenant Hamber (@OsricVek).

“Bar’s open Tavell.” he replied, wresting his arm free. “If you want one so badly, get your own.”

“Not for me I’m afraid. Nor you.” Tavell said. “New operational orders just arrived from the old man.”

“What? Right now? What could Darrow possibly need done so badly?”

“Trouble in the Ploo System.” the elder pilot replied. “Fleet’s heading to Taris to supplement forces there. 81st is going along. Delta Flight will need new flight plans.”

“But we’re scheduled to be here for four more days.” Solari protested. “I’ve got leave scheduled!”

Tavell offered a merciless shrug.

“Orders are orders.”

Solari glanced down longingly at his untouched drink before setting it back down on the bar sourly. After making his apologies to Knight Sere (@Volene) and the accompanying squire (@Xorism), Kellan joined Tavell near the hall’s entranceway. He gave a final, longing look at the party and then the pair head out towards the city and the obligations beyond.

“Who wants to rub shoulders with the brass when you could be babysitting some backwater, eh Hamber?”

/exit