Open Coruscant Chicken?

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC

Taco was strolling along the thoroughfare on his lonesome with his headphones jacked into his ears. He didn’t recognize the song as he was tuned into a random station playing whatever came across the wave. This selective song was honestly rather wacko but whatever. Chicken bone? Taco thought as he kicked a stray donut. Roast it well with cajun sauce! A hand swatted a fly. He spotted a sign at the corner of the city block: ‘Red’s Roads’.

“The hell’s that even mean?” Taco asked the daylight. It did not respond. He had not expected it to. Sure, he knew some things that the average person did not know, such as how to move things with his mind and stuff, but Red’s Roads was lost on him. Like...follow the red brick road or some shit?

“You an idiot?” A voice came out of nowhere.

Taco looked up at the burly Bothan who stood before him. “Huh?”

“The light says ‘Pedestrians Cross’, you moron. Unless you want to get run over you’d best cross.”

Taco looked left, looked right, realized he was in the middle of a street and hastened across. Red’s Roads waited for him. He stuck his tongue out at the Bothan’s back and entered. His earphones came out. He was rather surprised to realize that the store’s music was playing the exact same song. Great brains...think the same? He was pretty sure that was how the saying went.

“Can I help you with anything, sir?” A Human spoke from out of nowhere. He wore a red waistcoat that appeared to be the uniform of the suckers who worked in this tech shop.

“Yeah…” Taco sniffed. “...You can point me to the nearest restroom. I gotta piss.”

The employee cleared his throat. “Right over there, sir.”

Taco shrugged, brushed passed the dork and made his way to the restroom while swiping a datapad into his hoodie. It, after all, had just been sitting lonely on the shelf so hey. Taco was not the kind of Twi'lek to chicken out from a bit of a borrow, hey?

 

[Juniper]

Red's Roads.

There were better tech shops. Much, much better shops. Hell, she was pretty sure that her old workshop could've produced something better than the low-grade trash that lined these shelves. Beggars, however, could not be choosers. She needed a new datapad and she needed it now. No workshop. No Temple. No ship. Lean times.

She stepped inside and slipped her hood down. Letting her hair fall out round her, framing her sharp features. The muffled bustle of the streets outside mixed with the terrible music blaring through cheap speakers. She looked around the aisles full of over-priced, under-clocked technology and felt her fingers twitched.

Oh, the magic I could do with all this and enough time. Still, there was little chance of that. It'd cause a scene, and she was keeping things low key nowadays. Instead, she stepped down those aisles, checking the models that lined them. Frowning as she checked the unresponsive keys, the low-res screens, the weak casing...

"Can I help you, miss?"

She turned and saw some smarmy guy in a waistcoat. A waistcoat.

"No, you really can't," Nara replied brusquely, turning away. "And it's not miss. Juniper will do." There was little to add. Seemed like this trip would be worse than useless. Unless...

"Excuse me," she said, turning and calling after the salesman, "do you have anything with a little more power? I need something that can handle data quickly in the field."

"I'll see what I can do," he said, still regarding her with a little coolness.

"Please do," Nara replied, turning away again with her arms folded. The sooner she could get out of this crapshoot shop, the better.

@Die Shize

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Taco was out of that restroom in a jiffy. He didn't actually unzip himself as he had no need but he made sure to take as long as it would take to pee.

Who would expect that he had just popped the packaging of a datapad, stuffed said packaging into the base of a trashcan filled with paper towels (man this place really was low-tech) and now had that datapad hiding in his hoodie? Oh, also, that sign by the restrooms that reads ‘No merchandise beyond this point’? Yeah, it wasn't working.

Marching down the aisle with a smile on his face, very smug and very much loving it, thank you very much, Taco had every intention on leaving this piss-poor store and bragging to his friends how he had just robbed it. Then something caught his eye and daaaaaaannnngggg

“Hoo-wee!” The Twi’lek whistled. That chick was H-O-T. It had been a low enough whistle from far enough away but he wouldn’t wait to see if she had heard it or not.

He advanced to catch the tail end of a conversation with some other dork in a red waistcoat. Power, she says… Taco grinned. Got just the thing you need, baby.

“Hey,” he greeted simply, idling by the shelves and avoiding eye contact. He was just a fellow shopper, after all. “So uh...what do you think of all this junk, am I right?” He snickered. Oh yeah. Sixteen years old about to make it with a twenty-year-old, hoo-wee.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

No sooner had the shop-guy walked off to search for something better, somebody else came up to her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Twi'lek... kid. She raised an eyebrow. Great. I'm looking after the toddlers again. That's super.

"It's crap," she replied, turning away to wait for the shop assistant. Small talk with a Coruscanti teenager. What had she done to deserve such a torment? Hopefully he was just trying to be friendly and this wasn't a thing. Without looking at him again, she stepped a little ways down the aisle, busying herself with other things. Eyes wandering over the shelves filled with poor-grade electronics, wondering if there was something she could cobble together from this stuff.

"Look kid, I'm a little busy. Shouldn't you be drinking in parks or something?" she asked him casually, without looking at him. She leaned in to pick up another datapad, fashioned in the cheapest, nastiest plastic she'd ever felt in her life. "Jeez, ewww..." she muttered, pushing it aside.

Her fingertips drummed on the side of the shelf, checking the time. Tick-tock, tick-tock, where are you, waistcoat guy? She looked back at the kid, narrowing her eyes slightly. Something buzzed in her bag, breaking her concentration. Lifting up the satchel, she took her communicator out, giving a flash of the contents. A couple of books, a datapad, some blaster cells, a tube of burnished black and blue metal... and what looked like a droid chassis.

'Hi? Yeah. Yeah, just looking." Nara stepped a little away, arm folded round herself as the other hand held the communicator up to her face. "Nope. Just some store. Nah, total trash. Might be something but I doubt it..."

@Die Shize

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Crap. Taco snickered. This lady had a way with words. Then she had to just say it. They all had to just say it, huh? It. Kid. He twisted his lips, tried to mask his disappointment. Didn’t she know that they would be married someday? Drinking in parks or something? He frowned. The hell she think I am? Some sixteen-year-old?

Then this chick had the audacity to answer her com like the guy beside her was just some dead datapad or something. Women, they really were all the same, huh? The last girlfriend he had had dumped him on account of her having bad breath and him just pointing it out but hey. Wasn’t honesty like the key ingredient of a relationship, hey?

“Excuse me, miss?” Waistcoat returned just then to steal Taco’s glory. He just stood there imagining a hundred ways for Waistcoat Dork to die. “I believe this item will satisfy your needs!” With that, the employee held out a package that looked fancy enough but not really.

He then proceeded to spiel about these wants and those needs, those specs and these reviews, before Taco just couldn’t take it anymore and waltzed up like he owned the place because, hey, he would have managed it a whole lot better.

“You serious?” Headshake. “You trying to rip this lady off, brah?” Taco took the ‘item’, flipped it, tapped a finger on the description. “Yeah, rewrite ‘Fast and secure’ with ‘Slow and unsafe,’ and ‘It has the tools to help you stay productive and connected’ to ‘It has the tools to help you pound and crack your skull open because it’s cheap shit’.” Headshake. "Any rookie knows that the DS-532 went out when the DS-523 came back in to then get done in by the SD-235 two years later on account of the kind of virus protection that not even 5S can crack. You dig?"

Waistcoat Dork stood there shaking his own head like he had never been told off before. What are you, eighteen? “Take this kriffing druk back to the backroom. She ain’t buyin’ it. Neither am I.” He afforded. Would the lady buy his performance? She should. Taco wasn’t just robbing a tech shop, after all, but was robbing a shop whose tech he knew a damn deal about more than the employees, apparently.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

The store guy returned with a box that just screamed 'low-grade tech' at her. He started listing off specs and details that Nara just filtered out. Guy'd probably spent the five minutes round the back trying to memorise the spiel. Like she wouldn't just read it there and ignore him. Tool.

Then the kid started. At first, Nara glared as he approached her space, ready to smack him right in the face, but then he went hard. She watched as he launched into a rant, confronting waistcoat guy with a fiery forcefulness that would've made even teen-Nara blush. She said nothing, quietly enjoying the look on waistcoat's face as it twisted between shock, denial and apprehension. He looked pretty young too.

When did everyone get younger than me? This is how it starts. This is how I get old.

"How about you let me decide what I'm doing?" she said finally, in a short and sharp tone. She stared at the back of the box for a few more seconds before tossing it back to the clerk. "The kid's right. This is absolute crap and we all know it. This won't be able to handle my needs. He should be in your place but I wouldn't want to subject him to that nasty waistcoat." Nara gave him a pointed look before turning away.

She took a few steps forward, fully intending to stomp right on out of the store and return to carefree day-drinking, when she sighed and looked back at the kid.

"Thanks. You know your tech, huh."

@Die Shize

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

The hot chick had a hot point about deciding for herself. Taco could appreciate a woman with confidence. There was this one chick he used to date, Suki, who always made him decide what shop to go to, what tacos to buy and throw at people and what wall to sit on while throwing tacos at people. Well, I guess maybe making me decide was reflective of Suki’s own decision making? He pinched his chin and thought about that before remembering his place.

Taco couldn’t help but snicker as the lady beside him frikkin’ flayed this fool in a waistcoat. DANG that’s a burn! He was proud of her and apparently she was proud of him enough to recommend Taco taking Tool’s employee position. Though, we all agree, that would not be good for me.

After subtly waving the employee away so he could go bother the bathroom or something, Taco turned to his new female friend, his femma fatale, his foxy… Crap what’s another F-word? Dang she was walking away but hey wait she turned back too! Fate...that’s the word…

“Eh, I get around.” Taco answered cooly with a confident tug of his jacket. Shit. “Wait no I meant heh I don’t ‘get around’ like with girls or anything but hey I mean well uh—” Shit! “—Guess what I’m tryin’ to say doll—” Kriff! “—As innnn your name’s Dolly right? No? Oh.” Scratched the back of his head. I’m dead. “Ehhhhmm yeah...I know my tech…heh...”

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Oh dear.

It had all been going so well for the kid. He'd managed to show off a little, make a statement, prove his point. And now his mouth was running something fierce. Every word he stumbled through made her face slip even more, turning into an outright glare towards his last nervous heh. Eyes as sharp as knives, glaring deep wounds into him as her jaw hardened.

"Did you just call me Dolly?" she asked, her voice worryingly low and quiet. If he wanted her attention, he sure as hell had it now. She turned towards him, staring right at him with all the cheer and charisma of a blaster rifle. She took a single step forwards, raising her finger to point at him.

"You're a very brave boy, aren't you?" she asked, making sure to put an emphasis on that word. Boy. "Brave, or stupid. Very stupid." Another step closer, finger pointing forwards, sharp stare just stabbing deep into the teenager's eyes. "Walking around thinking you own the place, when you're barely out of diapers. What are you, twelve?" she said with a sneer, that finger poking towards his chest now as she stood right in his personal space.

"So come on then. Call me Dolly. Call me Dolly again," Nara hissed, daring him to try, "try it. Try it one. More. Time."

@Die Shize

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Taco didn’t really know what to say or do. I mean he knew this woman was a woman but he had never really hit on a woman before. Just girls his age or near enough and what’s up, but a woman-woman? Like a sophisticated flay-you-alive-and-eat-you, pale blue-eyed princess of a woman?

In hindsight “Dolly” was probably as bad as “Doll” but he had met that one baker named Dolly and she had baked him a pretty cake so maybe that counted for something maybe? Then again did she just call him “Boy”? Boy..?

Oh well whatever Taco took a step back as Dolly But Not Really took a step forward. Stupid!? Did she just call me stupid? Another step forward. Another step backward. Twelve!? DID SHE JUST CALL ME TWELVE.

“I…” Taco looked left, looked right, licked his lips. “I, uh…” Looked right, looked left, licked his teeth behind his lips. Dang, she’s somethin’ fierce, ain’t she!? Then it clicked. Somethin’...fierce… Like, DUH, Taco. This is exactly the flay-and-eat-you chick you were wanting all along. What are you...chicken?

“Look…” Taco smiled, straightened his jacket, but less shamelessly than he had the first time around. “Clearly I’m just intimidated by a pretty woman, and I gotta say sorry for that, but I hope you don’t hold it against me.”

He shrugged. “I just got caught up in the moment after hearing some douchebag try to sell trash to such a lady and trying to help her out of a bad situation so well, uh, yeah…” He sighed. You got dis. You got dis.

“And, if you must know…” Ah, hell. She ain’t gonna know. Ain’t like she’s a Jedi or anything, L.O.L. “I’m eighteen.”

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Oh, if only he knew the things she could do. Would he let his mouth run if he knew where she'd been? What she'd done? Who she used to be? The temptation tickled beneath the cold anger. A flash of the saber. Toss him aside casually with the Force. Reach into his mind and pull out his deepest, darkest secrets...

A shiver of shame ran through her. Did the kid, as annoying as he so obviously was, really deserve to be scared or assaulted like that? Besides, she wasn't meant to be doing that sort of thing anymore. The last thing she wanted to do was to bring all the Jedi crap back out, not in the middle of Coruscant. Not unless she had to.

"Well, thanks kid but I'm more than capable of handling things myself. And even if you are eighteen," Nara started to say, even though he clearly was no older than fifteen in her opinion, "you're still a kid. You should be mooning over girls at school, not at me."

The finger curled away, promising an end to the chest-jabs and scary pointing. Her face softened a little. Not exactly a positive look by any means, but at least she didn't look on the verge of murdering him.

"Go home, kid. Save your shot for someone worth it." A huff, a sigh, then a shake of her head. "Besides, you don't want waistcoat guy to notice the datapad you've stuffed in your jacket, do you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows before turning away.

@Die Shize

 

[Preef Callo]

Listening intently at the conversation onfolding closeby, a rodian was still pretending to determine whether the display datapad had all the specifications he need it to have. 1) be able to play HoloMovies, 2) Listen to podcasts and 3) be able to communicate via the spare beacons in the Outer Rim. Honestly, he didn't quite understand any of the fine print on the packaging, but he hadn't dared to interrupt the rather heated debate to be able to ask a question to the Twi'lek kid that seemed to know a lot about this kind of stuff.

That rodian, you see, was a rather well-disguised Preef Callo. Yes, you read that right: The Legendary gunslinger and boss of the most powerful syndicate in known space. He was on Coruscant to inspect the Lower Five gangs, show his support to keep morale up, but on the way over his other datapad showed a blue screen of death and he really needed a new one if he wanted to keep tabs on his troops and his assets. He wore a tunic that was unremarkable for a low-level worker on Core worlds and most species couldn't really tell the difference between one rodian or the other, anyway. The only thing that could really betray him was the fact he was carrying his trusted Peacemaker in his favorite leather holster.

When the woman send the kid home, Preef quickly approached to intervene, "Wait one moment," he asked, smiling apologetically at the stern woman and holding up a datapad for the Twi'lek could see. "You think this is a good datapad?"


@Die Shize @Charndley

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Taldorak had been running missions all across Hutt Space in an effort to dismantle their organization. That's when he pulled the duty of protecting the Big Boss. Having played a hand in setting up the Lower Five, Taldorak knew his way around their territory and it made him the obvious choice. With his beskar well known on Coruscant and a bounty on that particular set, he was in everyday clothes feeling naked, save for the fact that he had blaster resistant clothing on and a surprising amount of weaponry for an everyday pedestrian. He wasn't exactly sure what was so important about Preef finding a new pad, but he didn't question it.

Where he could really hold his own in a firefight, he was just about all but a lost cause when it came to tech, save the types that helped him kill. So, Legendary Gunslinger Preef Callo and his bodyman would wait for some ten year old with a death wish to geet finished being chewed up and spat out. He was thoroughly enjoying the reaming that both waist-coat guy and the kid were getting, boy did that woman have a fire about her.

So when the Big Boss stepped forward, so did his Mandalorian muscle, though for now he just kept a relaxed stance.

@Die Shize @Charndley @Eccles

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Wait what was this about mooning girls now? Personally Taco would settle for the reverse but hey. This woman's feisty attitude was really not helping her. He just wanted her that much more. The Twi’lek loved a chick who could beat him up, especially when said chick was older than him and as hot as fried chicken and as spicy as toki toki sauce.

“I think if you gave me a chance you’d— Wait what? Huh? What datapad?” Taco tucked his hoodie hastily. “I don’t have any datapad.” Stuck his hands inside the front pocket. “Nope. There’s no datapad here. How-How are you?” Crap I’m a moron.

Then a voice came out of nowhere with the worst possible words: “Wait one moment.” Taco froze at the same time as snapping to attention.

“IT'S NOT EVEN MINE!” After recognizing this Rodian or, in other words, recognizing that this Rodian was wearing a tunic instead of a waistcoat like that other moron, Taco cleared his throat and pretended nothing happened.

“Oh that datapad.” He looked at the Rodian’s package. Er, package, not package. “Yeeaaahhh that’s a piece of shit, buddy.” He pointed at Pretty Woman. “I just saved this woman—lady—chick—eheh—shopper from buying the same crap.” Clapping his hands, he then proceeded to inform the Rodian of how many ways that packaged datapad sucked ten piles of shit through a straw when the Twi’lek suddenly noticed the Mandalorian.

“—And you end up paying for a wonky video display, garbage audio playback, crap connectivity and HOLY SHIT IT’S A MANDO”

It didn’t matter if the guy sported traditional Mando armor or not. Most armored guys looked like Mandalorians to this guy. So Taco immediately thrust his hand out to the Mando for a handshake. “I’m a big fan, my man, hey hey!”

@Charndley @Eccles @Rhogar

 

[Juniper]

Luckily for the kid, the rodian decided to interject just as she was done giving him a verbal stabbing. Did he think that the kid worked for the store or something? Nara rolled her eyes, folding her arms around herself. Suddenly a little less comfortable causing a scene now there were actual witnesses. She scanned briefly over the rodian, noticing nothing but a fairly nice looking blaster in the holster. Coulda been anyone. She quickly moved onto the muscle who was... Mandalorian. Without thinking, her face turned into more of a grimace.

More of them. Great. They always appear at the worst moments too. The fact that this one was male too was bringing up some bad memories from her teenage years. Memories that should stay dead and buried. Seemed like the kid took a shining to him though. She watched as he pushed towards the muscle obliviously, holding out his hand like he was meeting a holofilm star or something.

Nara turned back to the rodian. "The kid's not wrong, there's nothing here worth a damn. All the pads here are basic as hell and you could probably get them in better condition at a better store. This place isn't worth your credits." She cast a judgemental eye over the rest of the stock, shaking her head even more. "Least if the kid ran it, there'd be some tech worth it." The old her would've taken all the pads and rewired them, bypassed the limitations and made them purr... but taking apart a bunch of product in the middle of a store was likely to get CorSec involved pretty quickly.

Maybe I could run a tech store and establish an electronics empire, Nara wondered, just looking above the rodian's head as she daydreamed, there's money in that, right?

"Sorry... I was somewhere else," she muttered, snapping back to reality.

@Die Shize @Eccles @Rhogar

 

[Preef Callo]

Preef didn't understand anything of what the kid was saying, but he got the jist of it: the datapad sucked. Disappointed he motioned for Taldorak to give in and entertain the kid as the rodian returned to the aisle. "They're all basic as kriff, hm?" he looked at the different models, disregarding the letters or specs and focusing solely on whether they looked slick and cool enough for a syndicate boss to use in the presence of his subordinates.

There was this one that was matte black and the label said it was the latest model, perfect for long-range communications. That should work, right? He'd have the Zaa Fenn slicer boost the kriff out of it once he got back to Eriadu, ofcourse, because that was supposedly a thing you did when you had tech-savvy friends.. or underlings.

Taking that one he brought it over to the counter, "This one, please." It just happened to be the most expensive in the store, but Preef only knew that while there was a time that he couldn't have afforded it.. right now he probably wouldn't even notice the slight dip on his accounts.


@Die Shize @Charndley @Rhogar

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

By the gods, this kid moved his mouth and about a third of the words actually sounded like words. There was a way to fix that, but he wasn't here to catch a case. Yet. Then suddenly, the kid stepped forward praising him, and suddenly Tal had to worry his disguise wasn't even good enough to hide his identity.

He had two options: kill the kid, waistcoat tool, and the girl to get rid of the witnesses orrrr... Shake the kids hand. He really wanted to go with option one, it had been a day since his last kill and he was starting to feel that twitch. But... The Big Boss would make the decision for him, so he reached forward and gripped the kids forearm. "Yeah kid, I'm a Mando."

Then he noticed the girl and her stink face. It wasn't shocking. His people had bad reputations in all the best ways. So, he looked to her and offered a wink, was it to stir the pot? More than likely. "Yeah, don't worry, dala, I don't like most of my kind either." He'd say with a laugh.

As Preef stepped away, his gaze would follow the Rodian, to pan the area with his hand resting on his hip, just next to the blaster, before shifting back to the pair. "You two know this place was trash before or after you entered?" As Tal looked back towards his boss, he thought how the KnowOnes needed a new front, and this could be it.

@Eccles @Die Shize @Charndley

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: OOC

So I just noticed that I totally skipped over Taldorak not being in armor. I have no qualms about editing so PM me if I mess up again (I just may) and I’ll happily fix! Can retcon that Taco just saw the weapons and muscles and just thought “Mando”.

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

“Oh dude I knew it!” Taco squeezed that Mando’s arm like his life depended on it as they shook hands. Last time he had tried this the “Mandalorian” turned out to be some Duros in a space suit but what the heck that suit looked like some kriffin’ beskar’jam or whatever the heck so what the hey. This guy did just have the muscles and the weapons but the man looked Mando? “So what is there a sign-up center or—”

Pretty Woman cut him off just then. Kid? Didn't she know that this Twi'lek was going to be the man of the galaxy one day? Of course she didn't but he could be patient with her. She seemed to insist on his ability to run this pisspot of a shop so that was progress. Soon enough and they'd be married.

Apparently the Rodian had found his own progress as he strolled up to the ugly clerk behind the counter with his pristine purchase. Well it was probably more like bantha poodoo but whatever Taco had done his due diligence. Hell maybe he found a hidden gem floating in this toilet? It was plausible that Red’s Roads had the odd prize here and there. Such as what’s in my hoodie…

Back by the Mando, Taco shrugged at his question. “Eh, place is called Red’s Roads…” He sniffed. Did the clerk just burp? “What the hell does that even mean? I dunno you can’t call a tech shop that name and not have it suck, hey?” The name wasn’t the only thing that sucked. “Also hey store clerk woman person, what’s with the waacko music? The heck’s she singin’ about a chicken bone for? With toki toki sauce?”

@Charndley @Eccles @Rhogar

 

[Juniper]

With a sigh of relief, Nara watched as the kid found his new crush. May he be forever happy, lusting over beskar'gam while the rest of them moved along. She nearly laughed out loud as he asked if he could sign up for it, like it was just a club to belong to. Oh wow. I'll leave that one for the Mando himself to answer. Though, the Mandalorian's comment had to be dealt with.

"It's not a group thing, more a personal thing. I used to know a Mando guy," she said, leaving it at that. The sight of one of them usually put her mind right back on Rynn. Took her straight back to being 18 and having terrible taste in pale, ill boys trying to show off for her. Eight years as a Jedi and all I got was the sick-boy Mando.

"Hey, don't ask me, I don't listen to this crap," she said, waving to the speakers, "I've heard amputations that sound more pleasant than this." Her arm waved towards the shelves, showing all the lines of plastic, uniformly basic datapads. "Depends on where you are. Sometimes you can find decent tech in places like this, especially if they wanna keep it quiet. But then again, it can be a total crapshoot and here we are." Nara looked over her shoulder as the clerk delightedly took the rodian's money, pleased that he didn't want to chew them out or shout at them for their inferior tech.

"I dunno, place has front written all over it. If this wasn't Coruscant, I'd say there was a Hutt behind it." A casual comment, followed by a shrug. Just what she thought, based on her experience. Fronts were easy to spot when you looked close enough. And that'd been on Nar Shaddaa. Out here in 'civilised space', they stood out like a sore thumb.

@Eccles @Rhogar @Die Shize

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

This was an excitable little tail-head and by the gods, Tal had to think of the thirty-six ways he could kill him in that moment to keep his blood pressure down. He'd even release the forearm, ready to pry the kids hand off if he needed to. "Uhh.. yeah. That's not how it works. Ever." With that though, Tal just thought of a wonderful scam. Make people pay to be Mandalorians! Well, it would have to be ironed out later, but this kid was definitely prime material.

His gaze then shifted to the woman."Yeah, well, little boy Mandos are typically pricks. We get too focused on glory and making our name that we lose sight of everything else. I know I did, but I found the way again. But, if the little osik really hurt ya, hit him in the separation between the cod piece and the thigh plate. It'll hurt like Haran and make him think twice and may bring ya some vindication." Tal laughed.

Then the tail-head started talking about the shop and stuff. "Yeah, the name alone should have been a warning sign. Waistcoat guy was a clear second sign." That's when he noticed it. The music. "Kriff, that's music? I thought I was stroking out and about to enter my own personal abyss."

Then the girl really caught his attention. "A front? Really? Maybe Pyke or Crimson Dawn, hmm?" his gaze would shift back to Preef before scanning their surroundings rather innocently before his attention returned to the ten year old and girl twice the kids age.

@Charndley @Die Shize

 

[Tacovean Delminar]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Amputations? Taco pressed a finger to his lip as he thought about that. What do they sound like? Like…”skwitch!” and “sklurch!” and “hockk-hockk-hockk-hockk-hocck!” He was doing his best to recite the sounds of a blade sawing an arm in half and a leg in two but maybe he was far off. Maybe, though, store clerk was a nurse practitioner just working in this pisspot for some extra cash, hey? Maybe, though, Taco didn’t really give a piss.

What Taco really cared about was whatever the hell the Mando was talking about. Osik? Haran? Cod piece? Had Mando been hunting sick fish in a haram or..? Snapping to, the Twi’lek processed the idea that Red’s Roads might be a front… A front...Red’s Roads...Red’s...Roads… “NO SHIT!?”

Taco coughed into a fist after that little outburst. He looked between Hot Chick, Mando and Rodian, attempting a whisper before realizing midspeech that the whisper was breaking the boundaries of being a whisper.

“So, check it...it’s like this…” Sniffs. “Some friends of mine—Farret, Barret, Mucho, Lucho, Doug and Rug—were in my parents’ basement one night with this box of pizza—pepperoni, I’d asked, but noooo these bozos bring me CHEESE ONLY—anyway they stole this crate of beer from Nuz’s News—little corner shop on the Old Express-o-Roo haha not really just made that name up it’s really...I don’t remember the street name—anyway a couple of movies on HV later—ever seen the one about the pointy-eared dude with that chain o’ flames and the speeder bike and the slowmo shootout in that pastry shop, pew-pew?”

Taco waited just long enough for a nod or a headshake before continuing. “Well okay anyway hey so Farret’s like ‘DUDE I just remembered my brother telling me about this dude named Red, dude!” and Mucho’s like “Wait, what? Red? Yeah, I know Red! Red’s the dude who told me to follow the road if I wanted more stuff, dude. Whole backroom and shizznizz, ya fizz?” And I’m like “Da kriff?” and Lucho’s like “Nah nah, it’s crispy critters, dude, Red’s legit!”

Taco took a quick breath, no time for interruptions, and went on. “Aight so Barret’s like “DANGGGG this pizza ain’t pepperoni yo also why’s my beer empty—” Taco would continue on and on unless interrupted.

@Charndley @Rhogar @Eccles