Ask Tatooine Roses and Lilacs

[Selene Trakand]

Bar-Bar Drinks Cantina, Los Eisley​

ROSE

The Bar-Bar Drinks cantina had seen better days, but if Selene was to have her way then it was about to see worse days. A series of unfortunate events had brought the cantina into the ownership of a Twi'lek who was not entirely prepared for the life of running a cantina, specially a somewhat unsuccessful one. So in a way Selene was doing her a favor by taking it off her hands.

She had come to know of a spice-master within Crimson Dawn who had a new drug on his hands, and was looking to expand his operations just a she was with her own. Not only did she have her eyes on the cantina, having seen the risks of over-reliance on Kessel's spice production she wanted to diversify into other opiates. Seeing an opportunity to kill two porgs with one stone, she had reached out to him and arranged a meeting with one of her associates to have him demonstrate the efficiency of his drug. The associate of course would be her, under the guise of Rose, for she wanted to see for herself if the drug was as effective as she had heard it was, and if the man was worth associating with.

Arriving at the cantina, a little early by her estimate, she headed for an empty table and took a seat. Gesturing to grab the passing Twi'lek server's attention, she waited for her to gracefully saunter over. "A noonian fixer luv," she said with an inviting smile, "and maybe one for you if you want to give a gal some company?"

The Twi'lek smiled, though out of interest or politeness was unclear, but acknowledged the order and left for the bar to bring Rose her drink. Rose leaned back into her seat, letting her eyes casually scan the mostly empty bar. Having taken a seat that let her keep on eye on the entrance and the bar, and spotting nothing threatening nearby she let herself relax for a moment as she waited for her drink and her appointment.

@Mockingjay

 

[Angar Thorn]

Angar preferred to steer clear of worlds so blistered by their stars that nothing green grew above surface. It was well known that Tatooine was hot; but not all knew how hot. The heat on his rough Zabrak skin wasn't the problem. Under the twin suns of Tatooine at high noon, the heat was inside him. He wasn't so much walking in a furnace as he was being turned into one. When the cantina that was to be his reprieve appeared in his field of vision like an oasis shimmering in the midst of the endless dunes, he sucked in an audible breath of relief. He didn't care what they served in there. He wanted it, and he wanted it cold.

Mechanical doors whirred and parted for him. Not a soul looked up. On any other world, a tattooed Zabrak in black garb would draw whispers at the very least. On Tatooine, he was far from unordinary. He liked that. He blended in by simply being. He wished more worlds were like that. It took him but a second to recognize his quarry. That shock of platinum blonde was recognizable enough anywhere. But she was the secondary priority of the moment. First drink, then business.

He sank into a seat across from the woman and summoned a server with a raised hand. A handsome Twi'lek answered him. "I'll have whatever she's having," Angar said. His voice was low and rough, gravely like the belly of a krayt dragon dragging against the infinite sands. He added, "And make it cold."

While he waited for the Twi'lek to return, he fixed his gaze on the woman, his associate for the afternoon. "I've never understood why the Hutts like this planet," he said by way of making small talk. "Their homeworld is so wet it can barely contain all its water. Here, you need machines to wring out every bleeding pint of the stuff."

The server returned and the two aliens exchanged drink for credits. Angar's molten eyes once again traveled across the table after he'd had his fill of the fixer. "But enough about heat. The both of us have much to discuss. Like, the choice of venue." He gave the barest tip of his head towards the rest of the cantina. "I don't suppose it was a coincidence you chose this rundown shithole to meet in. I'm curious why." @Wit

 

[Selene Trakand]

ROSE

Sipping on her drink, Rose titled her head as she spotted her acquaintance arrive, following his approach through the mostly empty cantina to join her at the table. You could learn a lot about someone from their body language, the way they moved, the way the spoke. Even before he spoke to her she could infer some things about him, or at least guess at what he wasn't. Many didn't like being in a place like this, empty, abandoned, where it was easy to draw attention. But she didn't get that sense from him, which was good.

And once the Twi'lek dropped off his drink and left he jumped straight to business. Again, good. She didn't like wasting time, and respected those who respected time, theirs and hers.

"Did you know that Tatooine, and Mos Eisley in particular, had one of the worst response rates with regards to the AMS virus? It took them forever to get that shit under control, even after the fools in the ISC started shipping them free vaccines." She smiled at the Twi'lek server as she walked past their table on her way to one of the few other customers in the cantina. "Offer for that drink still stands," she called out to her, putting on her most charming smile, "I'm good company you know." The Twi'lek smiled once more, and this time a little blush accompanied the smile, which was just what Rose was hoping for.

She took a little detour to walk past their table, and leaned in as she passed. "My break starts in fifteen minutes." She walked away, and Rose turned her attention back to Angar. "Gullible, easy to find targets," she whispered as she leaned forward so that her words were only audible to him, "and no authority figure to worry about once shit hits the fan. I'd call that the perfect setting for a test run of you little invention. Won't you agree?"

@Mockingjay

 

[Angar Thorn]

Angar hated that he already liked the woman. He kept this bit to himself, of course, because he could already see that she was dangerous. Not to be trusted. At least, not yet. It was a compliment. If he thought he could trust her already he would have walked out of this cantina without another word. Trust and crime didn't go well together.

He pretended to consider Rose's offer. In reality, he already agreed with her assumption. This cantina would be an ideal test run under certain circumstances. He wanted to see if she knew what those circumstances were. "I know something else about Mos Eisley," he said. "That it is under the watchful eye of the Hutts. They hole up in Mos Espa. That's where most of the racing money comes from. But they'll not turn a blind eye to my product's appearance in their markets. Not for long." His eyes blazed at her from under the shade of his hood. "Nor will the sudden takeover of a cantina in their territory."

In truth, the Hutts probably cared very little for the cantina. It was small enough. As long as Rose continued to pay tribute to the local daimyo, she could get by with murdering the owners. But him? No. Wildfire had yet to make a name for itself, but Angar had seen up close what it could do. Once the word was out, the Hutts would come looking.

"What is your plan when the Hutts or their mercenaries come knocking?" He sipped lightly at his drink. "In my experience, they can be annoyingly... persistent." @Wit

 

[Selene Trakand]

ROSE

Rose smiled, pleased by the Zabrak's line of thought, he showed caution. That was good, meant that she didn't have to worry as much about him slipping up. She'd still worry, she always worried. But the fact that he wasn't a bumbling fool like Durga who was likely to destroy everything she had worked for in a matter of minutes if left alone meant that this venture could be more profitable than she had assumed. It was her nature to assume the worst, and she had agreed to this meet because she had assumed that even if he had turned out to be a burden the opportunity his invention offered would have allowed her to turn a profit. But competence meant that the profit could be so much more. That was indeed good.

"Hutts.." she began, tilting her glass on the table and twirling it around, "Hutts are easy to control, if you know how." She pulled out a card from a sabacc deck and held it up in front of the Zabrak, hoping he would know its significance. "Dear Selene happens to be intimately familiar with one, and plans to use that connection."

A quick flick of her fingers and the card vanished up her sleeve, out of sight before anyone else spotted it. She picked up her glass once more and leaned forward and lowered her voice as she continued. "With ownership of this joint will come the responsibilities of paying tributes to the Hutts. As part of that tribute she will offer a small supply of Wildfire to them, free of charge." She waited for a moment, to see how he reacted to that news. "They're gluttonous beings, no matter how much they have they want more. Can't turn away a free treat, specially if the treat is as good as you claim it is. And once they're hooked then you slap whatever cost you want on it and they'll bend the knee. They have some muscle, but these Espa slugs aren't half as strong as they would need to be to strong arm anyone, specially once their entire crew is hooked on your drug and ready to flip the moment someone happens to come along with enough Wildfire to win their cheap allegiance."

It would take time, and some financial sacrifices up front, but in the long run the rewards would be worth it. That was if he saw the same potential in the plan.

@Mockingjay