New Prospectives (Pre-DotR)

[Vosrik]

Davian had just docked his ship, the Celeritate, after returning from a business trip to Brentaal. He wiped his brow and took a look out onto the all too familiar street, scanning the passerby and multitude of lights. Squinting, he peered down the long road at each of the possible canteens, wondering which one he'd go to tonight. Usually business was smooth, but occasionally Davian would meet one of those traders, generally unpleasant people to haggle with. Today he had to deal with not one, but three of them.

He needed a drink.

Davian picked one he hadn't been to before ("The Blue Box" or something, he didn't quite catch the name) and strode inside, collapsing into a bar chair. "Hey barkeeper, lovely place you've got here. I'll have an Ardees, if you don't mind." The man across the counter nodded and smiled, obviously pleased at the comment. Pouring the beverage, he slid it to Davian who in turn passed some credits across. He slowly sipped his drink, savouring each mouthful.

@Shalken

 

[Shalken]

Magnus stepped off the crowded, smelly interplanetary shuttle with a huff. I'm never taking a cruddy ship like that again, he thought as he shuffled his way through the throng of civilians on the dock. Didn't even have refreshments on board.

Escaping from the crowd, he stepped onto the street, silently admiring the grand city's nightlife. Although Magnus had mastered the use of his prosthetic upgrades, everything still looked different through his new eyes. Everything sounded different, too. It was all too....sharp, too precise. Magnus shook his head. He had to get off the street, somewhere quiet....
Spying a smaller cantina that didn't have a lot of people hanging around outside, he set off at a brisk pace towards it.

Upon entering, he was happy to see that the bar was fairly empty and quiet. Huh, it looks bigger from the inside, he noted to himself. Walking up to the counter, he took a seat at one of the bar stools next to another patron. "Barkeep, I'll have a.....Jawa Juice, if you don't mind," he said, pulling some credit chips from his pocket and flicking them onto the counter.

Magnus took a long draught of the juice. That was something he'd have to get used to as well, eating and drinking with a mouth completely made of metal. Taking a look around, he realized that the man he had sat next to looked oddly familiar.
"Wait....I've met you before. Aren't you that guy with that fuel company, what's it called....Price-something?"

@Vosrik

 

[Vosrik]

Davian paused and turned, looking up at the looming stranger. He tried to ignore how intimidating the unnatural red eyes looked as they bored into him. Davian cleared his throat, "You'll have to forgive me, I don't recall meeting you before. Name's Davian," he held out his hand and gave his usual warm smile. "Davian Price. I'm the owner of PriceCorp."

 

[Shalken]

Taking Davian's hand in a firm grip, Magnus chuckled. "Well met, Davian. Ah, of course you wouldn't recognize me. I'm Magnus Valen." Not expecting to see a spark of recognition in the businessman's eyes, he continued. "I'm the son of Drucell Valen. We operated a little business in lower Axum. I'd have brought him along with me, but the man's a little....late." Magnus chuckled again as he took another swig of his drink. "So, owner of PriceCorp now? You seem to be moving up in the world, as they say."
Magnus fell silent as a plan dawned on him. He was practically stranded on Coruscant; no ship, no home, no job, and only a few meagre credits. He'd have to try something daring if his prospects were ever going to improve. Especially if they came hunting for him anytime soon...
Taking a quick glance around the bar, he leaned in closer to Davian. "So, this business of yours, PriceCorp....you have any job openings? I'm sort of in a rough spot right now....if you're looking for a business partner, someone to help balance the books and help around, I'm your guy."

@Vosrik

 

[Vosrik]

Davian shook Magnus' hand, suppressing the urge to wince at his iron-hard cybernetic grip. "Ah, the pleasure is all mine, Magnus."
He took a sip of his drink and quickly brushed a hand through his dark hair. Davian was looking for a business partner to help him expand PriceCorp...but he didn't know anything about this man. He'd need to get to know him better first before offering him such an important position.
Davian leaned back in his chair and surveyed Magnus with a new eye. "Well, I'm not exactly dying for employees at the moment, but I won't turn down a fellow in need." He took another swig of his Ardees and swished it in his mouth a bit. "You look the fella who could do some serious lifting. And maybe..." Davian smirked and scratched his chin as he remembered the difficult traders he dealt with earlier. "Maybe you could lend a hand when I'm striking some deals. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear some of your skills and experience in the business."
He pulled out a datapad from under his jacket and swiped a few things on the surface. "You say you ran a company with your father on Axum. Drucell Valen? That name does ring a bell...gruff fella. Anyway, PriceCorp needs people who know how to hold their own when doing business." He got up and waved Magnus over to a more secluded booth where they could talk more privately.

 

[Shalken]

Relief washed over Magnus as the charming business owner agreed to offer help. However, this was immediately replaced with a sense of apprehension. He was going to get interviewed, right now, for the first time in his life. He hadn't brought a resume; heck, he didn't even HAVE a resume.
Magnus chuckled at Davian's description of Drucell. "Gruff? Heh, you could say that. Taught me almost everything I know about the business, though."
Noting Davian's motion to move to a new table, Magnus downed his Jawa Juice in a single draught. Placing the cup back on the table, he met Davian at the booth. "Let's see, where to start....when my father started doing merchant work, I was still pretty young, so he got me to do a lot of back-end stuff, like some accounting and stock tracking." Magnus pressed a metallic hand against his brow. Focus on the positives. He needed that job.
"As I got older, he let me watch some of the deals he made with the other merchants, occasionally letting me do some myself. Once I'd gotten the hang of bartering, he'd let me handle deals on my own."
He lifted up an arm, inspecting the plating as he clenched his fist. Despite being encased in metal, he could still hear the servo-rotors working inside it. "I did a fair amount of lifting while working the shop, but that was before my...accident." He lowered his arm to the table. "I haven't exactly had the chance to test these yet, but I'm sure I'm stronger than I used to be."
Magnus thought it best to leave it at that. He needed to know if he could trust Davian first before letting on about his work with the underground spice trade.

 

[Vosrik]

Nodding thoughtfully and tapping things down on his datapad, Davian listened intently to Magnus. "Well, you certainly seem suited to the kind of work I do. It's mostly having to barter with suppliers that's tricky. Of course you seem well suited for moving fuel canisters, the small ones at least. I'm sure you're incredibly strong." He took another look at Magnus' cybernetic arms as he clenched his metal fist.
Davian thought for a moment before saying "Alright, I think I will hire you. Not sure how long I'll keep you, though. Of course I'd like to see how well you can handle deals, although I must inform you." He peered up at Magnus, a full head and shoulders taller than Davian, even sitting down. "I have a reputation around here that I'd like to uphold. I go about my business without insulting people, coercing them in an underhanded way, or especially intimidating them. Not to offend, but I'd like to maintain that appearance if I do hire you to work with me."

 

[Halcyon]

It was raining on Coruscant. Raining, on Coruscant.

After sundown? What were the guys at the Weather Station even thinking?

Back on Arkania, nearly a decade ago, a snow storm was raging nine out of ten times that he stepped outside. After a while, it stops being weather and becomes natural; a habit. Like putting on pants before going out. On Coronet however, it was possible to experience natural weather phenomenons such as precipitation on a regular basis. Not that it ever mattered though, since he spent half of his time there on the Selonian Tunnels while the other half on an orbiting drydock.

His master did warn him against going out, but that was concerning an entirely different subject. Nova Rigil was apprehensive, that was a given; he had been like that since earlier that day when he received that transmission. He told his master that he needed to get some fresh city air - as if that was a thing - to clear his mind. For him, meditation always was a physical process as much as it was a mental one. His master had grown to accept the fact.

The lies were becoming easier with each passing day, and that was starting to concern even Nova himself. He had become quite the adept at hiding his intentions from his master by actually fooling himself into believing his own deceptions. Simply trying to hide them was not enough, as it would cloud his mind and that was a dead giveaway that something was wrong.

Rain was coming down harder now, and the paled silver white-haired male covered his head with the hood from his dark cloak, unknowingly concealing his pointy ears and Padawan braid in doing so. The streets were still filled with people, and things that looked like people from a distance, because the rain had just recently started to fall. Nova aimlessly wandered those streets. He convinced himself that he was running towards something, rather that running from it.

The streets were getting empty by the second, and the cantinas full. It reached a point when it felt weird being the only one outside in the rain.

Soaking wet, he stepped through a door beneath a blue neon announcing "The True Socks" or something along those lines. Without ever removing the hood, Nova leaned against the counter and ran his eyes through the room - a habit he had acquired while on Coruscant. Although the bar was quite crowded, a figure easily stood out.

A droid with life force? Sentient then? Nova became curious and carefully extended his reach in search of feelings, emotions, anything that would shed some light on the riddle. The task proved to be harder than it seemed.

"What will it be?"A heavily sarcastic voice was heard. "Buying or just browsing?"

Nova Rigil glanced over his left shoulder at the bartender. "I'll have whatever those two are having," he said while nodding in the relative direction of the booth where the strange cyborg was sitting, accompanied by what seemed like a human male.

"Jawa juice comin' up!"

@Shalken​

 

[Shalken]

Magnus nodded at Davian's warning. He was confident that he could handle deals well. He would definitely have to try hard not to swindle anyone - it was almost a given in the trading world on Axum. You had to assume someone was taking advantage of you somehow.
Davian's final point made him pause and think; intimidating? That's a new one, for sure. Was that why people on Coruscant usually stayed away from him? Perhaps. He'd definitely have to test the theory in the future.
Magnus rapped his knuckle on the table as he nodded and said, "Understood, sir. No offense taken. I'll make sure your reputation stays....intact."

Hearing the patter of rain against the window, Magnus glanced outside. Good thing he got in there early, he still had no idea what kind of effect water would have on his cybernetics. He also noticed the streets were clearing up, too - the bar was full of various customers now. Most of them were hangar workers having a drink after a hard day's work. Magnus' eyes locked on a hooded figure sitting at the counter. Seeing the man nod in his and Davian's direction, he looked back to his employer and leaned in, "I think we've got company."

 

[Vosrik]

Davian peered over at the man Magnus was referring to. "Well it is getting a bit busier, rain tends to do that to the streets. This fella doesn't look so menacing." He raised his glass to the newcomer and smiled radiantly. "You look like someone who could use some company after a long day. Come, join us!"
He took a swig of his drink, realizing with some dismay that he had previously consumed most of it without realizing or taking the time to enjoy it. Davian frowned at the bottom of the cup. Bother.

 

[Halcyon]

Do people even invite someone over to their booth, just like that?

Apparently, the cyborg was not the only intriguing element at that table. Nova sensed no hostility or concealed thoughts coming from the human, so he grabbed his drink and headed towards them. The bar was considerably more crowded now, so it was getting increasingly harder to get a good reading.

As he approached the table, he noticed the human frowning at his cup. "Here, have mine," he said, offering his drink. Arkanian Offshoots can't handle their liquor anyway, and it seemed like an interesting conversation was about to take place.

Before sitting down however, he had to make a choice.

"If you'll excuse me," Rigil said, while sitting beside the man with the warm smile, so that the cyborg was on the opposite bench and he could face him.

Nova removed his hood, letting it hang from his shoulders, revealing the entirety of his racial features as well as the easily distinguishable white braid.

 

[Vosrik]

Davian scooted over to make room for the stranger. He was somewhat taken aback at the offer of the drink. "You're sure? Well, thank you!" Davian stuck out his hand to the stranger. "Name's Davian. Davian Price. If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here on such a pleasant evening?"
As the newcomer lowered his hood, Davian blinked a couple times upon seeing the white braid and began piecing things together. "Robes....white braid...could he be a Jedi?" Davian thought with some optimism. He always felt much safer around one, as rare as the occasion was.

 

[Shalken]

Watching the hooded figure edge through the crowd, Magnus' mind raced as to who this person could be. Why did Davian just invite the guy over? Were they friends? Magnus' suspicion continued to grow as the man took a seat beside Davian. It reached a peak as the stranger almost immediately handed his drink over to the dismayed merchant. They had to be friends, nobody would just hand their drink over to a complete stranger.
....or would they?
It was then that the figure removed his hood, revealing his white hair and sharp features. Pointed ears? That's a new one, Magnus thought. Before he could introduce himself, Davian offered his hand to the newcomer; he seemed even more at ease than before, if that was even possible. This confused the cyborg to no end. Davian obviously didn't know the stranger personally, since he just introduced himself. How could he possibly be at ease with this man that he knew nothing about?
As these thoughts bounced around inside Magnus' metallic skull, he hid his roused suspicion as best he could. His face was completely impassive, but anyone attuned with the Force could easily sense his strong susupicion of the newcomer.

@MockaDash

 

[Halcyon]

"It's fine, I just bought it to blend in. I was simply looking for shelter from the rain."

Nova warm-heartedly accepted the man's handshake. "Rigil, Nova Rigil," he said in return to Davian's introduction, realizing he sounded like one of those characters from the mystery novels he used to read on his datapad. "For a moment there, I thought we knew each other. Guess that's not the case." He was still absent-minded from the news he had received that morning, also failing to notice right away that his hood had been camouflaging his status until he removed it.

It did not take a Jedi to realize that Price had just identified him as being one. Not a particularly difficult feat to accomplish with him flaunting such a conspicuous hair style. Yet, given the circumstances, a completely different reaction was to be expected.

In turn, Nova was able to recognize the businessman by his exquisite suit. On the other hand, the cyborg still posed more of a challenge to discern, and Nova was not one to make light assumptions. Still, he had to either be buying or selling; and most likely services of a 'delicate' nature.

That man - if it even was a man - refrained from any introduction. There was however a sudden flare of suspicion erupting from inside his metallic frame; now that Nova was closer to him, he could easily feel it. Had it always been there and did he simply failed to noticed it before, what with all the sentients on that bar; or, was the man somehow able to hide his emotions to such unprecedented extent for a non-Force user? He was now certain that he was indeed a man, but could he also be attuned with the Force while being able to effectively hide it from Rigil?

If so, the guy was even scarier than he looked. Nova's curiosity piqued.

The Padawan went straight to the point. "I can't help but find it odd that a couple of guys such as yourselves, on a run-down tavern such as this one," he motioned towards the whole cantina, "would accept a stranger such as myself into your table," what's the angle here, he wanted to ask.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he went with an alternative query instead.

 

[Vosrik]

"The pleasure is mine, Nova Rigil. Forgive me for perhaps being overly welcome, it's gotten to be a habit now. First impressions are everything," Davian straightened his suit jacket in a very embellished, businessman-like way. "Conflict hasn't gotten me anywhere yet."
He repositioned himself on his bench and exhaled slowly. "I'm here tonight because I've had a somewhat rough day doing some business in Brentaal. Haven't been to this tavern before." Davian scanned the crowd, noticing a couple men raise their voices about something far across the room. Probably nothing to worry about.
After hearing Nova's query, Davian smirked and raised an eyebrow."On the contrary, is there anything I can do for you. You see," he leaned in a bit and peered into the crowd. "If you've been around places like this long enough, you notice a pattern in people. This fella over here," he pointed at someone at the bar, "He's here to drink his woes away by himself. Or that one there," he pointed at another one. "She's itching for a fight. See how her eyes look so vicious, how she broods over her drink."
Davian turned back to Nova. "Now you, I took one look at you and thought, there's someone who's got hopes and dreams, maybe not something a lowly businessman like myself could possibly offer. But maybe I could help you along, perhaps point you in the right direction." Secretly, Davian couldn't read Nova all that well and hoped he had guessed the man's motives correctly. Everyone has hopes and dreams, duh.

 

[Halcyon]

"Although they usually won't admit to it, often not even to themselves, even Jedi have hopes and dreams," Nova said with a grin. The whole swoop seller routine did not impress him in the least. "I don't believe it's possible to be a spectator to your own life."

The Padawan, choreographing every move although not excessively doing so, placed both elbows on the table and clasped his hands together, the arms thus forming a triangle with the tabletop. He rested his chin on top of his hands and began to speak in a nonchalant manner.

"Nice party trick you got there. You managed to point out a sad drunk and a mean drunk, in a cantina filled with both. Not a hard thing to do if you ask me," he said with an honest smile. "If you'll allow me, I'll try to perform that same trick, while upping the ante a little bit."

He was doing his best to sound laid-back with the intent to ease any built up tension. Davian had him figured out for a Jedi so he was most likely aware that Nova had his lightsaber with him, while Nova had no idea about what (if any) weapons the man might be concealing under that expensive suit of his. The cyborg however, was surely loaded. By keeping his hands in plain sight and acting casual, he was hoping that the other two would do the same.

"Your suit is obviously expensive and well taken care of," he said to Davian. "I could go as far as to say that it is your only one, but then I would just be guessing, and I don't want to do it. Point being, that you're obviously a businessman, no doubt about it; and I am inclined to believe your story about just arriving here from Brentaal.

"But then again, what would a businessman want with a private booth? You were looking for some degree of privacy, that's for sure. So it's either for business or pleasure." He momentarily turned to the cyborg. "And I mean no offense, but chances are this is not about pleasure, not on this bar anyway," he added, while looking around the place.

"It can't be serious business either," Nova stressed the word serious, then he continued while pointing back and forth between Davian and the 'tin man' with his index finger, "so I'm guessing that this was either a fortuitous encounter or you're conducting some, let's call it, less than serious business.

"Totally fine by me," he lied, which was not very Jedi-like, then turned to the silent glossy man, "but you... I can't figure out if you're a customer or a merchant."

[Sorry for messing the post order, but I think it makes sense for Nova to act now. Also, @Shalken Nova's hair is short ATM, I thought mentioning the Padawan braid was enough. Sorry for the confusion with the profile, this is pre-DoTR and he'll let the hair grow back again once he cuts off the braid]

 

[Shalken]

(( no worries, I also figured it would make more sense if you posted next as well. Also, I should have noticed his hair wouldn't have been long if he had a Padawan braid.))

As Magnus listened intently to Nova and Davian's conversation, he quickly discovered that the newcomer was one of those weird cultists, the con artists that call themselves "Jedi". He folded his hands on the table, calming down somewhat. This guy's intent didn't seem too malicious; the Jedi were more of the peacekeeping sorts, or so he'd heard.
Magnus chuckled, his voice deep and metallic. "How....perceptive of you. But you are only partially correct. However, our meeting had nothing to do with trade; this was an interview, and quite a spontaneous one at that." He nodded toward Davian. "I was out of a job, and this man happened to be hiring. I am a....merchant, but I was forced to sell my business to help pay for these." He tapped his metallic jaw. "Believe me or not; that is up to you."

"Apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Magnus Valen." He chuckled. "Now, perhaps three can play at this game. Finding a couple merchants in a slummy bar, I admit, looks a bit shady. Especially if one is as upstanding as Davian here. But what would a Jedi...." he peered closer at Nova, "...be doing in a place like this?"

 

[Vosrik]

Davian smiled and thought, Aahh, so he is a Jedi. He raised his eyebrows at Nova's observation. This guy wasn't too shabby at deductions himself. Although, Nova's conclusion that they were probably doing nefarious business troubled him somewhat. Jedi weren't usually known to get violent, and Nova seemed to be purposely staying calm throughout their conversation. Davian had a fleeting thought that he might get reported for something he didn't actually do. He didn't buy that the Jedi was alright with shady business.
Davian kept his calm and pleasant demeanour despite these thoughts bouncing around. He relaxed immensely after Magnus spoke, although he still hadn't gotten used to the strangely human and yet distinctly droid-like voice. Davian looked intently back at Nova, curious for his reason on being there tonight.

 

[Halcyon]

Nova dropped his jaw and widened his eyes. "Whoa, nice voice you got there!" he excitedly told the cyborg. "Nice to meet you too, Magnus. I would offer you a handshake but I'm afraid you'd break my hand!" The Padawan leaned against the seat and closed his eyes momentarily, obviously relieved, he let out a long sigh. "Sorry for my erratic behavior, I'm not feeling like myself today; it's been a... weird day." He was gesticulating a lot more as he talked now. "I didn't even notice that this thing," he fiddled with his braid, "was being kept hidden by my hood.

Both men clearly knew what he was and they seemed as curious about him as he was about them. "Myself, I'm a Padawan as you've surely noticed. It's like a Jedi in training," he turned to Magnus while finishing the sentence as if specifically directing that additional information at him.

"To answer your question," he nodded at Valen, "I was just taking a stroll to clear my head and ended up on this place once it started to rain. I'm not looking for trouble, nor do I want to cause any."

At that point, Rigil couldn't sense any hostility coming from either of them, and the Tin Man had finally dropped his guard and overly suspicious looks directed towards him, so he felt best to just be frank; also, as a way to make amends for his previous conduct. "To tell you guys the truth, I was just fishing for information earlier. I'm being totally honest now," he was, "I thought you were Davian's thug or something," he told Magnus, "I'm glad that I finally got you to say a few words!

"The only reason I was eyeballing your booth before was because of this guy here. You're the first human I've seen with so many cybernetic implants; and, in case you haven't noticed, I'm the curious type!

But do tell me something, you can't be from around here, right? It took you way longer than usual to recognize a Jedi."

 

[Galavant]

Rain.

It was one of the many, many, many things that Andrena didn't really get the point of. Water falling from the sky. Why would anyone want to live anywhere where anything fell out of the sky?

Water, in the form of rain and moisture in the atmosphere in general, was terrible. It got things wet (duh), which made them weigh more. If you didn't want to get wet, you had to carry something to stop it, which also meant more weight. It led to rust which was so evil that even the Dark Side of the Force paled in comparison. Not to mention all the weird creatures that for some forsaken reason loved the stuff to come out and enjoy it. At least the weird crystal frozen kind didn't cause that last one. Even if it was a lot messier when it melted.

All in all it was pretty terrible stuff. And one of the reasons that Andrena was sure living on planets was a fad, and that people who actually enjoyed this kind of thing were lunatics.

She wouldn't even be on the sorry excuse for a city world if it weren't for the fact that she had a delivery to make. The Islandfire was sitting in a landing bay with some well paid dock off workers, and a few tons of spice in her holds. Andrena didn't really care much for spice herself, she was way too much of a control freak to really enjoy letting go of her faculties on a regular basis.

She was supposed to deliver it to...someone.

At....some place.

Not being able to remember details like this was one of the reasons she didn't really care much for spice. Sure it made for a hell of a party night. It also left some critical details rather fuzzy. She'd actually typed them out, but the datapad she'd used for that had been requisitioned for a game of space hangman. She remembered where to dock (because it was in the ship's computer) and the word blue. So now she was searching the area around where she'd docked, assuming that the place with blue in the name would'n't be too far. If she had to check the entire planet...well she'd probably just steal the cargo and take the probably bounty on her. Screw that. Checking this one little section of Coruscant was bad enough. She'd already checked a cantina called the Blue Door, and another called the Blue Star.

And for her third try she was entering the Blue Box.

She was cold, miserable, and dripping with water at this point, and didn't really care about the other patrons. It didn't really like that special of a place, and no one in it looked particularly interesting. Having spent a good chunk of time on Nar Shaddaa, she'd seen far stranger and more interesting. Going straight to the bar she ordered a rum hot toddy. All she wanted to do right now was enjoy the warm drink, and find whoever the hell it was that wanted a ship full of drugs.