Ask If I Ever See You Again, It'll Be Too Soon.

[Aska Ryun]

For a long while, Aska had simply dismissed what had transpired with Covax and the Cartel as the repercussions of their line of work. Was travelling to Tatooine to arrange a meeting with a Hutt and, for some reason she couldn’t piece together, a Sith Lord a good idea? She didn’t need to hear about his encasement in carbonite to know that it wasn’t. Even so, how was anyone really meant to know that Preef Callo had risen from the dead and sat there in waiting?

Time passed and the clone found her vengeful nature bubbling back to the surface. After all, had it been her who suffered such a fate, she knew that Shane would not have left it unchallenged. Yet she had. She had done nothing. For the most part, she didn’t even really care. He had done it to himself, so it was his problem. She didn’t know what changed or why, but even if Covax couldn’t be rescued, she wanted to know that she tried to do something. At least she’d be able to sleep better.

Walking up to Nor’baal’s palace didn’t work out for Shane or the Sith Lord Draugr and it wasn’t a mistake Aska planned on repeating. Instead, she knew she needed information first. While Preef’s name was whispered around the galaxy after his return, it wasn’t the only one though the man in question was still someone she couldn’t say she was eager to reunite with.

The White Lion himself. Gareth Zaa Fenn. Another Legend of Shaddaa, crime boss from years past and a genocidal maniac that she had helped lock away. News of his escape had taken some time to travel to her ears but Aska fully believed that if anyone knew what had happened to Shane since his capture, it had to be Gareth. After all, he was practically Callo’s left hand.

Even despite the monstrous size of the man she sought out, Gareth was… elusive. A lesson that perhaps he had learned during his imprisonment; loud lips usually were the ones to catch knuckles. Then again, whoever took a swing at the mountain of a man likely had a deathwish. Still, she had a small network of contacts from her lengthy career and she soon had a lead that would take her to Chalacta. Whether the White Lion really was hiding himself away on the the world remained to be seen but as was her tradition, she started the search off with a drink.

@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

Aska had made her move: She had come searching for the White Lion of Zaa Fenn, so she would quickly find him. A drink was a great way to lure him out, after all, he did like his alcohol. Not long before she got herself a drink, patrons of the cantina she got it from started to leave, the bartender herself leaving the place: A bottle of gin left on the counter. No one but Aska was left in the stablishment for a minute...And then Gareth appeared.

The Miralukan sat across the bar counter, on the other side of the bar: He had caught wind of someone looking for him, so he had decided to pay a good amount of credits to the owner of this cantina to keep people out...And he, of course, knew who came for him and had a pretty good idea as for why.

Back when he was an enforcer on Zaa Fenn, the White Lion looked like a threat, but there was an air of confidence, chipperness and energy about him that made him charming to some: A warrior that liked to fight, drink and have fun with everything he did. The Gareth standing in front of Aska, however, was much different. A tired, old man with a great beard and white hair turning gray, a hardened expression that had little to no joy in it, he looked much worse than before he joined prison, much more drained, as if he took less cared of himself, yet he still looked as big and threatening as ever, maybe even more as the years of experience piled on...The Lion was not a wild beast anymore, but rather a cold, composed monster.

The situation they were in was familiar, but the way Gareth went about it was not: In the past, he had been taken out in a place not much like this one and in the exact same situation, so, even though Gareth was pouring himself two glasses of Gin, his guard did not seem to be down at all, should Aska try to shoot at him, he would be ready, for that shot was what had robbed him of decades in the past.

"Speak." One word was all that he would give her for now, strangely enough, he did not feel the need to try to kill her the first chance he got...But he was certainly not happy to see her either.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

The air in the cantina shifted after her drink was placed on the bar, the hairs on the back of the clone’s neck standing on end. She could feel the eyes of numerous patrons land on her as she watched the pod races on the television screens. She could hear the sliding of chairs and the shuffle of boots as everyone drifted out into the streets but her eyes never moved from the monitors. She knew what it all meant. She didn’t need to see their faces or the White Lion enter the cantina. She knew.

As Gareth took his seat down the bar, leaving the entirety of it’s length between them, a coy smirk tickled the corners of her lips though she continued to watch the race. It was the final lap, only two racers remained. An Ugnaught named Poro, a relative newcomer that had been climbing the ranks in recent months and the ever famous Rikki Bawbee ( @Scoobert ) on Malastare. Yet even as she watched, her peripherals didn't miss the telltale signs of aging that had taken hold of the White Lion, his mane thinning with his years. Still, he looked every bit the part of a beast.

”Who do you thinks gonna win?” Aska responded, watching the race intently as she took a sip from her drink. ”The veteran or the rookie? People say Poro is the next big thing but betting against experience? Doesn’t pay off too often, does it?” she asked, placing the glass back on the bar.

@Versok