Sipping Cold Tea ((Open))

[Calim]

"Ah, delicious. You have anything else around here besides beer?" Cydren said, licking his lips clean. Foam sizzled like seltzer bubbles on the oddly dark flesh from the Corellian ale. There was a blade on his back, hair on his head, and a mug of beer in his hand. He was as content as any could be. Smacking his lips, he pounded on the bar. "This isn't good for me at all. But who cares. I'm out for the night and I need something to dull the pain. Life is so cliche. Got any spice?" His tone kept changing as if he was drunk or high already.

Maybe he was. He felt a little buzz, but it did take more than a single drink (or six) to make him drunk. As for the high part, he was still bereft of those drugs he was asking for. Not that he would ever partake in spice. Well, maybe not often. He was after all one of those people that enjoyed trying new things. Drugs, alcohol, bungee jumping, even snorkeling on Manaan. It didn't really matter to him as long as he got his thrill out of it.

The bartender shook his head. "Ya sure I should be giving you another drink? You seem kinda high man." Cydren laughed.

"Ok then, give me some tea. I could use a nice hot drink after all of this chilled ale," he said, slapping a few credits onto the counter.

Waiting was the most boring part of a job, and right now his job was to start a new life. He jumped planets and was looking for work. It seemed like a good start, and what better place than a cantina? His tea arrived in a few seconds and he took a sip. "Ouch, burnt my tongue." He said. "I should let it cool down a bit while I wait for... hey, you have anything I can do? It's boring down here."

 

[Lerro]

Thomas Hale trudged into the cantina. His hair was dark with soot, his face was covered in sweat, and his black coat was stained in dirt. By his current appearance it would be practically impossible for anyone to even think that he was an incredibly smart genius. But then again, most geniuses tend to be messy, unorthodox, unpredictable and sometimes even uncanny.

He sat down next to a dark skinned looking man who caught his eye. He had never seen such a being before, but he didn't stare for too long so as not to offend the man. He watched out of the corner of his eye and smiled as this person received a cup of tea. He smirked as he looked him over.

Interesting. It seems that this man has no current purpose or occupation in his life. Thomas thought as he came to that conclusion, inspecting the man. The following clues led him to this quick and thrown together assumption. He is wearing dangerous looking knives and a sword, not attempting to conceal them in any way which leads to the fact that he is a man of action. But neither of the weapons are dull or bent at the curves which means he hasn't been using them lately. He's wearing hiking boots but has no where to go judging by the fact that he is in a cantina wasting himself away to some ale which, of course, he has apparently had too much of and now has reduced himself to a cup of tea merely to make an attempt of slowing the effects of the alcohol and to drink something hotter than cold ale.

Suddenly, he heard the man say, "...hey, you have anything I can do? It's boring down here."

As Thomas ordered himself a cup of tea, just like the dark skin man had, he turned and smiled. "Well when one is bored, he comes here. When he is bored here, he picks fights with other men at the bar. A brawl ensues and other bored men join the fight. After it's finished, the man goes back to his drinks, continuing to be bored and then picks a fight with someone else. And thus, the cycle of drunk men sitting at a bar rages on endlessly. Seeing as though you are in a weakened state by the ale you have been drinking, that would not be a good thing to do. And also, it would be a waste of good spirit." He nodded as he lifted his own cup of tea to his lips and sipped. "Thomas Hale," he said, holding out a hand so that the dark skinned man could shake it. "And you are..."

 

[Calim]

"Cydren," he said. His eyes were dull from drink, but his hands were quite a distance from his weapons. A testament to his skills or merely a trusting nature? "People call me a man of many talents. Heh, I even had a run as a doctor for a day," he said with a sardonic wink. He picked his tea up again, rolling his tongue around in his mouth warily. Was he up for another try? Sure thing.

He emptied half the tea into his mouth. The liquid scalded his tongue and throat, causing a little tendril of steam to pour from his mouth. He smacked his lips together with a sigh of contention.

"Ah, well this tea stuff sucks." Cydren continued as the bitter aftertaste of the liquid assaulted him. "Hurts like a bitch going down and even comes back with a horrible kick. I like the ale better, not that my opinion matters..." He trailed off in his little monologue.

He coughed and cleared his throat. "Well Mister Hale, how are you doing this fine day? You have any work for me? Cracking skulls or saving lives maybe? Something in between? It's been rather dull this past..." He looked at his fingers, slowly counting the days. "Uh, week."

 

[Lerro]

Thomas laughed at Cydren's doctor comment. "I've known many doctors. If you are one then I am a Trandoshan with pink skin." He smirked at his own sarcasm. He never had a gift for it, but he always managed to make himself laugh with his sad attempts to humor someone.

As he watched Cydren nearly drown himself in hot tea, he almost couldn't hold in the laughter. He smiled and nodded, partially agreeing with him that, in fact, the tea really was not all that he had hoped it would be. Nevertheless, Hale still sipped his cup of warm liquid. "I find ale to be most unhealthy. I never touch the stuff. Its a shame that people lower themselves to unhealthy methods of entertainment for themselves." He spoke as he pulled out a cigar and lit it on fire, then quickly stuck it into his mouth.

The Investigator leaned back in his seat as he listened to his new acquaintance speak about looking for something to do. Of course, Tom had plenty of things that needed doing. "Well, since one is asking, I do have a few errands that need running. I was planning to do it alone, but it is quite dangerous work and it would be much easier with an assistant, if you will. You see, I'm an investigator...of sorts."

 

[Flame]

Anaru was waiting, but he wasn't certain what he was waiting for. All he knew was that the force had told him to go to this Cantina late at night for no apparent reason. That was what was great about being connected to the force. All the facts may seem peculiar at one point or another but sooner or later all things came together and the jigsaw puzzle came intact.

So he sat here alone at the bar, with a simple mug of spice tea to keep him awake. A hood covered his face and kept him aloof from the other visitors at the inn. "Boring night, I guess." thought Anaru, and then he heard some interesting news. Using the force he tuned in his hearing, and caught a couple of the delayed words and sentences of the conversation.

You have any work for me? Cracking skulls or saving lives maybe? Something in between? It's been rather dull this past...Uh, week."

"Well, since one is asking, I do have a few errands that need running. I was planning to do it alone, but it is quite dangerous work and it would be much easier with an assistant, if you will. You see, I'm an investigator...of sorts."

From what he had caught Anaru made some quick inferences. 1. These guys were going to be doing highly illegal and dangerous activities. 2. Loser #1 (the drunkard) was obviously incapcitated and could be easily manipulated.

These were two of the worst circumstances that Anaru could have asked for. But unlike many occasions he wasn't going to be rash. He was going to tail them safely from a distance, stay out of sight, and keep his head up and aware of his surroundings.

 

[Mr Mythos]

Suddenly, a humanoid burst into the cantina and dived headfirst underneath the nearest table.

Only a few of the inebriated patrons of the cantina managed to pull their ethanol-muzzied heads from their respective tables to look with mild and unfocused interest at this newcomer. The people at the table of which the man had dived under were to drunk to be bothered by this, only one of the two Duros sat there poked a rounded head under the table to peer at the hurried man. The man under the table placed one gloved finger against his lips to signify shh. The Duro nodded drunkenly, putting on an air of great solemity as if he had been burdened with a great task.

Three armoured men hurried into the cantina, wielding blaster rifles and scanned the cantina.
"He must have gone out through the back!" One of them said stupidly (why do they never check? the hider under the table thought to himself). The three men swerved around the maze of tables and out through the back. Everyone went back to their drinks, not bothered by this short event. Just another day. . .

The man waited a few seconds more then slowly stood up from under the table, revealing himself not to be a man at all. The small horns sprouting from all over his balding head signified him of the race Zabrak. Upon his back a long spear made of a foreign metal was strapped on via a thin strip of leather which also held a pouch which housed something with an antenna. On his right leg was a blaster pistol, safely in holster. He scanned the bar with steely eyes, as if he were about to draw weapons with the nearest person, then he relaxed.
"I need a drink," he said with heavy exasperation as he wove his way to the bar, careful not to step on anyone's toes. He took a seat next to two others who were conversing loudly but paid them no heed for the moment.
"What can I do ya for?" the bartender asked, squinting at him in the murky smoke and cleaning a glass with a rag so dirty it was more likely the cleaning process was making the glass even more unclean. Zhun (for this was the Zabrak's name) smiled meekly and replied:
"Glass of your finest water, my good man. . ."
The bartender eyed him and got him his water.

The Zabrak inspected it with a critical eye, noticing the flecks of dirt in the glass and the unclean greyish colour. He took a sip of the water and frowned, forcing the liquid down his throat. Water wasn't supposed to taste of anything, but this certainly did. He didn't think about the correct descriptive words for fear of his mind dwelling on the contents. To take his mind off it he looked over at the dark-skinned man and his companion. He smiled in a friendly way and raised his glass.
"Having a good night?" He asked casually.

 

[Lerro]

As Tom was still talking, he tensed as he heard the pitter patter of running feet. He whirled around to see a figure, nothing but a blur because he was running so fast, dive underneath a nearby table. Some people gasped as they caught sight of the unexpected seen. Others didn't even pay much mind other than look in the direction. The Investigator kept calm, sipping his tea as three dangerous looking men walked in. He smirked as they walked right past their target underneath the table.

Thomas turned back to Cydren and raised an eyebrow. "Never a dull moment." He puffed some more smoke rings out of his mouth as his cigar continued to burn. He was so concentrated on the smoke rings that he didn't even notice the blur that had just dived underneath the table sit next to him and his new acquaintance. Here he was close enough to see that the blur was a Zabrak, and watched as he ordered a drink.

"Having a good night?" The alien asked friendly like.

Thomas smiled. "Better than yours, it would appear. Friends of yours?" The human pointed a thumb behind him in the direction that the armored men went.

 

[Calim]

The dark skinned elfin man laughed at the question. "Friend of mine? I don't have any friends," he said, though whether darkly or wistfully was obscured. He watched the armored man for a little while, toying with the thought of starting a fight. Would his sword cut through that armor? Cydren fingered the hilt of his broadsword, tapping the leather bindings thoughtfully.

He shook his head, deciding to ignore the man rather than get involved in a conflict. The last thing he needed was to get thrown in jail on the first day he landed on a new planet.

"Work eh? Well, I could use some creds and you could use an assistant. Hmm... sounds good. What'll I be doing for you?" He asked curiously. This little escapade already proved to be more than another boring jaunt into a cantina. This time it might turn out to be profitable. Even fun if things went well.

He pressed his elbow to the counter and let his chin rest on his knuckles, oblivious to the presence of the Jedi.

 

[Lerro]

The dark skinned elfin man laughed at the question. "Friend of mine? I don't have any friends," he said, though whether darkly or wistfully was obscured.

(OOC: I was referring to the guy that just sat next to us, Calim, not Cydren lol.)

Tom nodded as Cydren pulled his mind back to the task at hand by talking about work. This dark skinned man seemed very eager to get something done. He was obviously an impatient sort of fellow, someone that Thomas would need to be wary of. Nonetheless, he did have some work for him.

"Be warned, my friend Cydren, that this is not pleasant business I have for you." Tom spoke nearly at a whisper so as not to let any unwanted ears hear what he had to say. "A friend of mine, an informant if you will, is waiting for me only a few blocks away in an ally. He has a package I need recovered. However, note the two men sitting directly behind us," Tom made a quick gesture, showing them where the men were sitting without it being obvious. The men were bulky looking and wearing thick leather jackets, carefully watching Thomas' movements. "Those two have been following me for the past hour now. I believe they have more men following my informant and when we meet up, they might try something. Cydren, I'll be willing to pay you money as a bodyguard."

Thomas took the last gulp of his tea and smoked one more puff of smoke. "If you're handy with a gun and looking for some work then you are welcome to come along as well Mr..." Thomas waited for a reply from the Zabrak. He didn't realize that he had not been properly introduced. "I am Thomas, by the way." A little informal, but he said it as kindly and friendly as he could. The Zabrak would be immense help if he accepted. Then Tom smiled, "Well then, what say you, gentlemen?"

 

[Mr Mythos]

Zhun couldn't help but overhear the other two men's conversation as he continued to sip the water. He was just considering to ask if he could help in some way when the more intelligent-seeming of the two asked him.

He considered this. It'd certainly be a big help; he hadn't had much work in a while. The only thing on the calendar attatched tackily above his Navicomp back onboard the ship was a spice smuggling job which wasn't up for another three days. He needed the credits desperately. The Rebel was out of fuel and prices these days weren't cheap. The Mercenary shrugged as he finished the last dregs of his not-so watery water.

"Sure," he replied, turning to face Tom "my name's Zhun," he smiled "it's nice to make your acquaintance."

 

[Fallen]

Zyka had been listening in on the conversation happening not to far away. The job wasn't what she was looking for, but at least she'd get credits to buy transport to Taris. There, she'd be able to disappear. They wouldn't find her there, with all the other outcasts providing free decoyships.

She stepped slowly, heading over to the caf machine. As she did, she inclined her head just enough that her voice would reach the fellow's ears.

"Is the job open to more than one person?" she asked, making it seem like she was just thirsty to the armored thugs.

 

[Lerro]

As Thomas was still awaiting a reply from Cydren, a girl caught his eye as she was standing next to a caf machine, not too far away. Tom looked her up and down raising an eyebrow. She didn't seem like the sort that would go looking for a job like he had planned, but the more allies he had at his disposal, the better.

"Can you handle a gun?" He asked. "You'll more than likely need it where we are going."

He crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair, slightly relaxing himself. He had plenty of time to get his new friends ready for the mission and plenty of money to pay them with. It seemed like this would be easier than he thought.

 

[Fallen]

"That and more," Zyka said.
"Getting riskier by the minute here... you really shouldn't-" Zyka shut up the thought there and then. Chances are this guy was more talk then actual work.
"You know that is a kriffing-" she cut the thought off and leaned against the wall, keeping her eyes still away from the man.