Small Victories and Big Hearts [Waste Rangers]

[Chairdor]

OOC​

Zonju V had its good days. When the clouds aligned just so to block some of the sun, when the raiders decided to take a day off from robbing and killing, when the Grays and Krashmaws had eaten their fill and decided to rest, when the lightning storms and tornadoes pushed their schedule back. It seems all that had coincided for Ross that day as he looked down on the valley. Truly it was a beautiful sight, the kind that had a historical significance you could see by a glance. The valley's walls had a rigid structure to them a layered nature which showed the history of a world much different but also similar to the one he stood upon. Archimedes had told Ross all about how these layers could be deciphered and dated and that way you could figure out which artifacts and bones were from when, Ross didn't remember asking Archimedes anything about that, but it was just like the guy to spread knowledge when it wasn't asked for.

Deep in the valley a fire was burning. Ross didn't know what it was about, but it looked like a celebration of some kind as people whooped and hollered jumping all around. It did his heart good to see that even in a place like this people still felt the urge to party, to let loose, and to go wild and forget if only for a moment. as he thought about this he realized the Rangers could use something similar. They'd been working hard these past few months and not just in fixing up the base, they'd been up and down this world and beyond looking for trouble and when they found it they took it down and damned if some of em, heck, all of em weren't pretty good at it.

As he began to move from the valleys edge he thought about Hiro's return and what it seemed to mean for the Rangers, there was a new vigor, a new vibe, they had been knocked down but they got up again all the same. Speaking of knocked down, Ross once again sorted through this new deal with the jedi, unlike a lot of others from the old Alliance he didn't see them as the principal cause of their failure though he didn't see them helping all that much either. Still the galaxy worked in mysterious ways and one of those ways was the force. If they were going to be good friends with people who knew how to harness that power, he preferred jedi over sith any day.

Hopping onto his speeder bike and zooming back to the Saloon Ross worked out a great party plan for everyone. There would be music, dancing, smiles all around. Most important of all it would be a total and complete-

"Suprise!"​

Ross stepped back as he turned the lights on in the Saloon to find a whole heap of gathered people jumping out at him. Lucky his pistol was secure or his base instincts might have kicked in, but as it was he realized the irony of this sudden commencement of festivities and began to laugh a long while before finally asking,

"What's the occasion?"

Hiro walked up to him holding up a small box wrapped up with his name on it and it slowly dawned on him. Had it really been that long he wondered and Hiro seemed to answer that,

"You really have been working too hard Ross ifn you forgot yer own birthday"

Shaking his head the old, now older, ranger gave a big grin to the assembled group as a compilation of his favorite music began to play. Taking up the offered box he looked to the others and noted even Gray didn't look so gray and so relishing in the moment he began to tear into the wrapping. Shaking the box he figured it for something heavy and in a way it was. Pulling out the yellow and brown fabric interwoven with his initials in red he draped the gift over himself as he tried it on,

"What a lovely poncho" he declared with genuine happiness as he figured it would come in handy on those long scouting missions taking on the desert wind and acting as a blanket on the frigid nights.

Slowly but surely the assembled group dispersed into little chatting groups, dancing groups, and a few even played a few party games. He noted a few new faces amongst the crowd and was glad to see them. Like any family and the Rangers certainly felt like one to him, it was always good to see growth.

Hiro was glad to see Ross liked his gift and he was sure he'd enjoy the other ones and the whole party to boot. Moving amongst Rangers old and new he tipped his hat quite a few times and awaited his guest of honor, the Jedi Knight Leucien Fang, liason between them and the Jedi order. He hoped the Jedi wouldn't mind mixing a little business with pleasure as the party got more lively by the minute.

Vince had readied himself for this day. Truly he had been preparing his entire life for it. With Alfred the Ranger serving droid in the kitchen and he on the bar the old barkeep was prepared for orders of apocalyptic nature. Bring me your custom orders, your rare drinks, bring me your great thirst, and your undying hunger he thought as he mentally prepped himself. Meanwhile Alfred continued to monitor the most important food they had been preparing that day and noted it was almost complete. Nodding the droid continued to flip pancakes, scoop ice creams, and generally move about in order to make sure everyone was satisfied. Truly the droid was grateful to the rangers, he was set to be scrapped before Hiro picked him up and fixed him, he was shocked to find he was a fellow droid and more shocked by the range of freedoms he had. Still despite these freedoms, Alfred was a serving droid and that is what he truly loved to do, so while he didn't enjoy the party per say, he was still enjoying himself quite a bit.

Gray didn't know how to mingle, she was a crappy dancer, so she set outside to do what she did best. Shoot. Setting up some empty bottles she set the sights on her Miscreant pistol and cocked the trigger. A shot rang out and a bottle shattered, she then quicken her pace, cock it shoot it cock it shoot it cock it shoot it. Smash smash smash went the glass as she went down the row. After a few moments she blew on the tip of her smoking pistol and looked out with some satisfaction with the miniature bit of destruction she had done until she saw the lone bottle still standing. Mocking her. Rushing it with a knife she swiftly silenced its mocking tone and when finished she dug up more bottles from a nearby rubbish heap and got ready to shoot another row.

Archimedes was having a swell time amongst his party compatriots. Recently he had begun work on a few improvements to the bases electrical grid and they seemed to be holding rather steadily in the midst of the festivities rather than blowing up and killing them all in a horrible burning death. So that was good. Schmoozing his way through the crowd he approached Ross with his own gift. As he saw the man opened it he smiled as he had worked quite a few weeks on it. Ross was obviously confused by what exactly what it was as frankly before Archimedes invented it it hadn't existed,

"It's a gyroscope friend, you can adjust it to match your guns barrel and it should give you a better read on where the shot will land,"

Ross thanked him after turning over the intriguing little piece and the old man smiled as he turned back to see how rusty he was from his years in the Corelian ballet. Jumping about on the dance floor he became one figure among many forming a party of friends, of compatriots, and of family. Ross looked over the doo hickey Arc gave him again and laughed, he always figured his best birthdays were behind him.

 

[Fang.]

The Eagles Shadow Came out of Hyperspace above Zonju V, the home of the Waste Rangers and a new safe haven for Jedi in these troubled times, as long as they did their part, which Jedi always did. This was all part of a recently made alliance the Fang had brokered with the Rangers, and it was a very fair deal at that, Jedi could use the RAngers base all they wanted as long as they assissted in Ranger missions (that were approved for Jedi and they werent already on another assignment) and they split any profits from said missions 50/50. After delivering the success of the negotiations to the Council Fang had opted to see this base of theirs and to meet the Rangers, and if Hiro, the Ranger he had negotiated with, was any to judge by, they would be a good bunch who lived up to their tales.

Fang headed towards the Rangers base using the coordinates he had been given during his meeting with Hiro. As he entered the lower atmosphere, he lowered the ships emmisions and approached the base from the side opposite to the city, trying to employ as much stealth as possible as was requested. Hovering over the landing pad, Fang flicked a switch extending the landing gear and slowly and gently lowered the ship down onto the landing pad, steam shooting out of the vents every few seconds as he shut down the ship and extended the landing ramp. Getting out of the pilots seat, he walked to the back of the ship and walked down the landing ramp.

There was no one to meet him at the ramp, but he couldnt say he was surprised, he knew that they were a small group. He heard music and alot of chatter coming from inside the door, Lively bunch He thought to himself, then again what did he expect. He walked inside to find a party going on, Very Lively bunch He stood there for a minute and took in the scene before spotting Hiro, Whom he waved down and approached, offering his hand Good day Hiro, He said politely.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Sarith didn't know how he got wrangled into this whole mess. Frankly, he'd been happy to sip away at the day between missions like it was any other just the day before, but this whole plan had sort of been dropped on him to help out with it at the last possible moment. While he was one of the newest members and likely not expected to give too terribly much to the party, the constant nagging reminder that his records in Imperial space may come up had him wondering just how he might ingratiate himself to the group better. That way he'd be able to get his side in before a muzzle was stuck between his eyes. So he'd gone into the city and made some calls, done some digging, and put a few of his meager credits in the right hands to get what it was that he had wanted.

It wasn't too much just by looking at it, but he figured that maybe the idea behind it would be more powerful than the simple gift itself. Once he'd had it and had finished helping where he could setting everything up, the old detective found himself in a corner of the room fighting the urge to play with his lighter or light up a smoke, and thanking some divine being that Tarra loved both he and apparently Vince enough to be obediently silent as they waited in the darkness.

He'd wrapped one hand reflexively around the gift in his pocket as he'd heard footsteps approaching and was surprised to realize that his breath had caught for a moment like a few others around him. And as the door came swinging open he'd closed his eyes when the lights came on. It wasn't some blinding flash that would have robbed him of all night-vision but Sarith was a picky old man who didn't like seeing spots floating in his vision whenever he tried to look at something for five minutes. He was picky like that. And he was also quick to deliver the gift. After Hiro had given his poncho, in that momentary lull when it seemed like nobody else was about to give the senior Ranger anything, Sarith stepped forward, and held out his hand palm-down. He dropped the wrapped gift lightly into the other man's hand.

"It's not much. Just an old thing from my old career. We gave them to all the boys who made Detective." Unwrapping the gift in question would reveal a palm-sized badge, dull-colored but still catching some light, and giving a feeling of some weight, "I figured being a Ranger is the closest thing this planet seems to have to good detectives who aren't on the take. Its not much but I couldn't get a gun for you that wouldn't have mods making it fifteen kinds of illegal off-world." He shrugged again, glancing off to the side for a minute, "Anyways. I won't take anymore of your time," he caught sight of Gray just as she was leaving. "and I'll go mingle."

Sarith could act when he wanted to. He'd blended in with everything from two-bit thugs to cops on the take in charge of multi-faceted schemes and backroom dealings. Of course as he took to a corner and rather stiffly assumed the disguise of wall-flower, he showed that it hadn't always been successful. He'd been beaten against walls and pool tables, shot a few times, and more than once outside of those times his acting had failed him. And here, Sarith could not act. He could not mingle or socialize or act like a normal person without seeming - awkward. All of this? His eyes lingered on the doorway he'd seen Gray disappear through earlier. He couldn't do this. This wasn't him. So suddenly coming up with an idea, Sarith cut around the outside of the party towards that doorway in hopes that maybe he could - well, to be honest he didn't know. Maybe find a kindred spirit in wanting to avoid all of the noise and rush of a party atmosphere?

Old instincts as he started heading out almost had him drawing his gun when he first heard Gray's shots. Until he came through the door just in time to watch her blast one and then finish off another by trying to bisect it with a knife.

Plucking a cigarette from his pack and lighting it moments later, he watched in silence while leaning against the doorway as she sat up more bottles. He said nothing and scarcely even moved from his spot by the doorway until she'd turned back towards him on her way back to her original firing position. He did this only to make sure he wasn't going to get shot by a young woman who'd proven herself to be both quite confrontational at times - and quite handy with the weapon in her hands. Once he wasn't perforated he stepped forward to stand off to the side and behind her. Just close enough to watch her shoot without being in her way while he puffed on his cigarette.

"So." He cleared his throat, "Good to know I'm not the only one who didn't want that scene."

Other than that? He said nothing more. Gray struck him as a woman who would open up to people in her own time, and that was just fine by him. Content with this, he waited for her to resume shooting.

 

[PapaChenks]

At least one member of the rangers had been enjoying the party. Had been the most important part of that sentence. Dorax was lying on the ground head first. Why does he always do this? He doesn't even like booze but will drink it until he can't stand, now he was on the ground feeling as if he was spinning around on a magic carpet.

*Bang* the crazy lass was still shooting those bottles by the bins, he'd gone to throw up earlier but had been scared off. Using his upper torso the lizard breathed himself over, now he was facing the sky. His eyes immediately began to focus up above. How had this happened? It set of to see the stars as a youth and was now lying, drunk, in a daze at someone who he barely knew's party. Not that he minded, he just hoped he could get some company, something that had been foreign to him for too long, at least with the Rangers there was the possibility of building some relationships, he'd spent some time with the old timer Sarith, he was alright, their two personalities were different enough that the conversation was good.

Now, if only he could get up, 'oh blasts' he thought, she's still shooting.

 

[Chairdor]

Vince was already having a helluva a time with drinks and the party had barely started. Shaking his head at the seven foot cyber lizard drinking himself under the table only to find that no table in the universe exists that is big enough for him to drink under, Vince moved to ready up more drinks for all comers. As it was the Saloon was quite populated now with a few people from the ol Federated Republic making the rounds now. Many of them were wounded and some of them were civilians, but they all looked a bit battle torn and scarred. As always the old barkeep had a drink for that and was soon brewing what he called The Republican Guard a drink that was bitter sweet like the predicament of the people who drank it.

Meanwhile Alfred was still working in the kitchen and just finished with the finger foods. Placing trays of cooked summer bug and nerf kebabs on the dutifully waiting 'Scruffy' and 'Clunky', Alfred sent the two out amongst the guests to mingle and offer the delightful edibles now sitting on their heads. The pair were suited up in finely tailored suits Alfred had made in his spare time and he saw they were doing their jobs as moving tables quite admirably. Looking to the oven again he saw the most important dish was done cooking. Removing it he set it down to cool and swiftly pulled out a few frosting guns to begin designing the greatest birthday cake this side of the Rim.

Archimedes was beginning to attract the attention of two Twi'lek girls recently found aboard an Imperial ship and the two after smiling at the sight of him joined his unusually intricate but at the same time seemingly random dance. The older man simply rolled with it as dancing wasn't about words or understanding it was about feeling. Unlike science which was a step by step process which gave few surprises and less worth the time and effort to get them, dancing always provided a platform from which anyone could leap towards the feeling of greatness. While he would still pick science over dance any day as it was a more lasting work providing good things to the masses rather than the self, he always felt a more selfish him would have stayed with the Corelian Ballet all those years ago, but there was no time to fret on the past when his jam was on.

Ross chuckled at Archimedes antics and smiled at everyone else in the party. He was set to get some food when he saw Sarith's approach. Sarith Ross thought as he weighed the mystery of this fellow, this wasn't any time to get lost in such thoughts so he shook off his lingering misgivings about the fellow only to coming across his givings, namely Sarith's gift of a badge. Ross lifted it and turned it in his hands, he smiled as he pinned it to his chest and gave the man a faint nod of respect, a gesture he was sure both the men could appreciate.

Hiro was at the center of this collective mass and madness and was taking his time to wish a good howdy to all those who had come out to see them. Of course there were there new federation pals and all the rangers old and new. Some other friends in the form of a pair of Twi'leks and a wookie were there and he was glad to all of them seemed to be having a swell time. Looking through the crowd the droid spotted an expected guest that he hadn't quite expected to see so soon. Adjusting his hat he casually made his way through the chattering crowd and made his way to the Jedi, and his newest compadre, Leucien Fang. after hearing the fellows greeting he walked over and offered his own,

"Howdy Fang well I'll be durned if you didn't come at a good time though I hope you weren't in the mood for much business over pleasure," as he said this the song shifted to a tune Archimedes found quite conductive to his dancing leading the old man to whoop and jump about,

"Were celebratin Ross's birthday, he co-founded the Rangers with me an all of us wanted to show our appreciatin of all hes done."

Hiro turned to give Ross a wave and the man slowly sauntered over stopping a few times to accept a few 'happy birthdays' and exchange a few smiles. Once he arrived Hiro nodded and gestured to Fang,

"Ross good buddy this is Leucien Fang a Knight of the Jedi Order, you know them fellers with lighty magic swords."

Ross nodded and offered his hand,

"Hello friend, names Ross Hakina, I operate intelligence gathering in the base so if you have any questions feel free to as-"

"But not today o course!" Hiro interjected, "Can't have him gettin back ta work before he blows out the candles even, now you scram and get back ta yer partyin."

Shaking his head Ross smiled and went right back to his reverie taking a small nerf kebab from a droid dressed in a suit. Enjoying the morsel he wondered just what kind of ridiculous people and situations he might come across next. Chuckling he thought to himself Aren't I supposed to be in my twilight years or something

Outside as Gray finished her knife work on the innocent bottle and finished setting up the next set, she turned to see a man smoking a cigar by the door. Adjusting her eyes she recognized him as the security threat that had breached the perimeter a few weeks back. That slip up had just exited her mind and now his presence was bringing it right back up. Her face scrunching in frustration she looked down to ignore the man and instead focused on her shooting. Once she heard him speak she grunted slightly not even looking at him as she focused on the bottles

BAN-CRACK

Went a shot as it shattered a bottle right down the middle.

BA-CRA-BA-CRA-BA-CRA

She continued down the line hitting everyone of them now. She noted this accuracy was somewhat unusual without the context. In a good mood Gray was a fairly messy shot but one agitated she became significantly better. Turning to the man that caused this feeling and her good shots she commented bluntly,

"You anger me."

Before walking back to the bottle line to set up more targets.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Sarith only offered a quirked brow and a barking laugh, "Well, you wouldn't be the first woman to tell me that. They're just normally a bit more profane."

In silence again he had watched her shots. The only sort of window into what he thought of her performance came from a slightly raising brow. But it was starting to give him ideas as he watched her go to set up more bottles.

"You're shooting for the center." That was his greeting for her when she'd walked back from setting up the bottles, "Any kid on this rock with a blaster and a working eye can hit a bottle if they shoot for the center." He grinned as he stepped forward to match her distance from the bottles as well, "I think you could do better."

He didn't say anything more at first. A simple observation of an old detective. It wasn't spoken like it was a question or speculation, but rather like he was sure of everything he'd just said. With one well-practiced motion he reached under his hoodie and drew his Zeus. A click of the mag release and he inspected to make sure it was loaded, already having one loaded in the chamber on top of the full magazine. He held it out, plain to see, in one hand, and set it on the nearest flat piece of wood. Sarith made a wave of the hand signalling Gray to do the same.

Sarith realized full well that Gray was the kind of girl who would probably shoot him if she didn't care what the other Rangers might do or say about it - or at least what the Old Breed of Rangers would think. So he decided to play at her pride to see if she'd take the bait.

"Tell you what, Gray. I'm an old man. My sight isn't as good as it always was, and ever since I got off Iziz sometimes my hand gets a little shaky;" flicking ash from his cigar to the ground and kicking it away, he turned to face her directly. "but I still think I can out-shoot you. Of course you seem like you might just get angry and shoot me, but I could still beat you."

With another casual flick of gathering ash to the ground, he looked to the bottles now.

"Unless you want to prove me wrong? Up for a challenge?"

Looking at her now though, even if he didn't say it, only one thought kept entering his mind.

Gray was a girl too young to need to be carrying a gun around.

 

[Saul Perth]

"Bah." was all Hal had to offer as he threw in his cards. Two Cowboys in his hand and one on the table, the old Ranger had the drunk party-goer sitting across from him backed into a corner, and then the 5th card rolled out and gave him a straight. He didn't even want to think of the odds, or the money he just lost. On his way to the bar for a double shot of "Forget Juice", Hal noticed a break in the crowd around Ross. He figured he best get in there now before the sea of people closed back up.

He approached Ross and gave a slight nod.

"Off on a run and I happened to spot this, figure you're old enough now for a real gun instead of,", Hal gave a sidelong glace at Ross's holster with a smile, "Whatever that is."

He reached back into his coat and produced a finely detailed leather belt, heavily oiled to stand up against the harshest desert sun. A rich, dark cherrywood grip stuck out of the large holster mounted on the belt. The grip was mounted onto one of the most beautiful pieces of durasteel Hal had ever seen. A SI600-R heavy blaster pistol was nestled between the holster's folds of dark leather. It was not new, but it had been well maintained. The few scuffs or scratches that marked the otherwise shining metal only added to it's beauty.

Placing the belt securely in Ross's callused hands, Hal gave him a firm pat on the back with a warm smile.

"Happy birthday, ya old coot."

 

[Chairdor]

The party was really ratcheting up as the music and conversation seemed to grow louder and louder. As Hal walked off from his cards another came to take his place. Ten card games like that had sprung up and all had heavy odds but light hearts as laughter filled the air far more than curses and shouts. On the dance floor Archimedes had gathered a crowd of onlookers. While he was tired he couldn't bear to let the two Twi'lek dancers down who seemed so fond of him. Red faced from exertion the old man whooped and leaped again with the two trained performers. This seemed to be his ankles limit however and he knew another jump like that could spell the end of his walking days. So bowing out the inventor moved towards the bar, expecting some disappointed sounds he instead heard applause and waved back to the crowd who swiftly filled in the gap he had left behind to square dance.

As Archimedes took a seat in front of Vince, sweating up a storm, the barkeep chuckled and sent a cold glass of water down his way. Within an instant the old man sent an empty glass back. Shaking his head Vince cleaned the glass with a rag before filling it up again this time sending a bottle as well. Usually he was stingy with the water, it was a commodity more precious than gold in the desert, but today was a day to celebrate and so the bartender opened his bar fully to all.

Behind the generous barman Alfred the cooking droid continued to perform his primary function with the grace and poise of a charging rhinoceros. Various pots and pans clattered to the floor as his multiple arms attempted to move in unison to grab a readily cooked flapjack. Curing he picked up the dirtied food and threw it in a corner where it was swiftly eaten by the numerous critters that had taken residence in the Saloon since the coming of the Federated soldiers. Noting the piece de resistance was nearly complete he moved to tell Vince before getting some candles.

Ross was loving every second of his celebration. Truly it wasn't the gifts he received, though they were a nice bonus. Instead the true gift of the day was seeing a glimpse of the old glory days of the rangers. Though they were brief the halls of the Saloon were once filled with people from all over the galaxy, swapping stories and sharing smiles. To see people doing the same thing today warmed the slightly older mans heart. What warmed his heart further still was the forever cheeky Hal Ninguno. He was another reminder of the old days, having come back in their time of need.

Taking the offered gift Ross viewed the new gun at many angles and then the belt. Putting the belt on underneath his new poncho he twirled the gun in his hand to get the weight. Twirling it again his eye twitched slightly. Nodding he set it on the bar and smiled at his old friend,

"Thanks ya young rascal though I may have to keep that 'real gun' on a display case, ya can't teach a dog new tricks and ya can't teach an ol ranger a new draw speed. Sides my ol lady here has gotten me this far. Still thanks pardner all the same,"

Returning the pat with a slightly firmer one of his own Ross nodded in thanks and moved back into the crowd to mingle some more.

Outside Gray's hands were trembling. There was a level of anger and agitation she could get to that would make her a better shot, but anything after pissed off just ruined her. Apparently she was shooting the easy way and further she could do better. Shaking her head the young woman wondered if a man shot in the center of the chest would complain she took the easy shot, further would he respect her anymore if she missed a more difficult shot and then killed her instead. By the time Gray heard the mans challenge she was already emptying her pistols spent cartridges and feverishly slapping new ones in.

Looking down the line to see the targets set up she then looked to Sarith and nodded to him before moving to the left side of the target set up. Six bottle in all, three targets for each of them. Not looking to her shooting opponent but instead focusing on the targets her hands still trembling she spoke,

"So...speed or accuracy?"

 

[Black Noise]

Matayn breathed in deep the arid air of Zonju V, she was almost beginning to like this place. After her trip to Necropolis with Daxim, her 'return' really, every single world she visited was more agreeable, even Nal Hutta. The tall woman slowly made her way through the crowd, smiling faintly as she did. It was hard to not smile, in the atmosphere of happiness that surrounded the party held in Ross's honor.

Ross, Matayn had never really gotten to know the man, but as she clutched a steel sheath close to herself, she decided she wanted to. Making her way to where he was in the crowd, she gently set a hand on his shoulder, careful to not squeeze lest she hurt him. Nearly all of her muscles in her hands were cybernetic, only the least important ones were left, so her ability to crush things with her hands was nearly always there.

Smiling, she attempted to get his attention and nervously spoke in a voice so low it nearly amounted to a whisper. However, it would not be difficult to hear her, as she leaned in to speak closer to Ross, knowing under normal circumstances her voice would be completely lost in the din of the crowd.
"Ross, H-happy birthday! Here, I got you this."
At that, she handed him the sheath and described the 25 centimeter long blade.

"It's a Mandalorian 'Keen Blade,' they call it a Shiib'kal. Do be very, very careful. I mean really, really careful, Ross. It's sharp down to a molecular edge, could cut through a blast door if you put enough pressure behind it, I would know, I did once with my own. I, I hope you like it and, m-maybe we can go out sometime, I'd like to get to know you better because I never got the chance to before. I never really got to know anyone really."
Matayn smiled, truly hoping the older man liked the blade. In the back of her mind, a thought nagged at her, a reminer really. She needed to find and speak with Hiro.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Sarith watched her reactions, taking notes on it in the back of his mind. For a moment there she had reached a peak of sorts: cold as ice and operating at her best. Then a few more words and that was all it took for her to crest over the peak and plummet back down. Her hands were shaking just emptying empty shells from her weapon to start reloading and it hadn't stopped once. But the old detective didn't grin or show any outward reaction to his having gauged her rather well. Everybody had that sort of peak, after all. It was just a matter of gauging where the peak was as opposed to if it was even there. So he once again made sure his pistol was loaded with a round in the chamber, aimed experimentally down the sites, and took stock of the targets in front of them. Three targets, three shots. It would be easy enough, he figured.

He quirked a brow at her question, "Speed and accuracy aren't exactly mutually exclusive in a fight."

Taking aim on the first of his targets, Sarith shot her a brief glance.

"On my mark. Ready?" He clicked the safety off, "Mark."

And on his word he squeezed the trigger. The slide knocked back, a casing was sent flying away into the dirt, and a single round went zipping downrange through the air. It caught the bottle so high up that it took off the first inch of the neck, but outside of cracking glass it left the rest untouched: the bottle rocking around from the force of the impact. But Sarith hadn't even taken time to register anything more than that he'd hit his target before he'd already started shifting over to the second. He only knew that the second had been a hit at the neck of the bottle because of the shower of glass before it was sent careening off the table entirely where it broke further upon hitting the ground. And the third was caught when three inches of the upper neck exploded in a shower of glass and the bottle was knocked onto its back where it lazily rolled in a half-circle back and forth on the table.

His own magazine was in his hand in a flash, and he cupped his hand over his slide as he ejected the round.

"Weapon's safe." Magazine, pistol, and round were all set on the table.

And with that he set his eyes on Gray's targets to see just how well she had managed to do for herself.

 

[Dóiteán]

Exiting hyperspace over the planet Zonju V, a ship descended through the atmosphere. The ship belonged to the opera singer Raakla Taa'ra. The yacht flew towards the main city. Landing, a Togruta singer walked down the ramp. She made her way through the town to a building that rented out speeders. Slowly going through the streets, she occasionally got some long stares. The famous opera singer was there to supposedly sing for a crowd. It took some time, but she had finally found the building. Walking in, she asked to rent a speeder. Paying for a day or two, she sped of to the outskirts of town. There was supposed to be a fort that her client said to be.

Walking in, the singer cleared her throat. "Excuse me. I was contacted by someone to come here to sing.", she stated as she looked around at the gathering. She kept her hands clasped in front of her.

 

[Chairdor]

The gifts kept on coming it seemed as Ross was approached by Matayn. She was an odd one, he could tell she had strength, but she hesitated in its use. Restraint, sometimes people call it cowardice, but truly those who withhold power rather than letting it loose were the bravest he knew. Matayn reminded him of his daughter, she was training to be a jedi on Coruscant. He kept her with the family when the jedi began to flee. That was a mistake. Dark thoughts began to pervade the old ranger's head and he swiftly shook them away. Not now, today was a good day.

He smiled as she leaned in, so tender were her words. Grasping the knife carefully as she instructed he slowly rolled it in his hands. He had seen many fine blades in his day, but this by far was the keenest, the sharpest. Obviously a lot of fine craftsmanship went into this work. All for the simple act of slicing, of severing, of killing. He wondered how the galaxy might look if people put half as much care in devices that healed and brought people together as they did those that blew them apart. His mind was drifting again, back to the black of Coruscant, his family. Blinking he moved the blade slowly into a sheath in his new belt being careful to lightly place it in there so it wouldn't cut into the fabric.

"Matayn...this gift is a cut above the rest," The old ranger was a dad once and he still remembered many of the jokes that made his damily cringe but also smile, he hoped she might like that bad joke and know that he truly meant what he said.

He was about to say more when he began to hear a familiar song begin to be sung. Lights dimmed throughout the Saloon and a warm shifting orange light of fire slowly made it's way towards him. The crowd parted and began to sing along,

"Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you....happy birthday dear Rosssss...happy birthday to you!"

Applause began as the massive cake was placed on a table before him. He looked down at all forty eight candles all shaped to form the letters of his name and smiled. While he saw the shadows lurking around every one of those years he also saw the brightness, the light flickering above. There was bright future here, for everyone. Leaning over he gave a hearty blow banishing the flames. Closing his eyes like a child he made a wish,

Don't let me lose another family

Cheers were heard as he cut into the new cake with the knife Matayn just gave him, not the most challenging first usage, but he hoped she would approve. Passing out the delectable cake he saw many fine people with lives, with loves, with hope. They were his candles now and there were a lot more than forty eight.

Gray looked at Sarith spitefully as he lectured her on her simple question. She knew that speed and accuracy were both equally important, but it was hard to test both at once. He wanted to, fine so be it. She cleared her mind as he set them both to start firing. She heard the click of his safety then her own, her hand seemed to act on its own moving just ahead of her mental commands. Time slowed down, then Sarith fired the first shot and it all came at once.

CRASH

Two bottles ripped apart, Sarith hitting the top while Grays hugged the side, both shattered into hot sparking sharp pieces. In an instant another volley erupted this shot connected with the center, a perfect shot for Gray, a lethal shot. She wanted to compare but there was no time. Still her eye shifted to Sarith's bottle, for just an instant, an instant to long. A twang from her gun signaled the firing of a bullet but her third bottle didn't move, didn't even flinch in the possibility of a fatal shot. It mocked her unmoving, unblinking.

She stared down the line at the unbroken bottle, seeing all of Sarith's up. Her hands twitched again as her eyes closed. For a moment she was a weak little girl again, she just joined the rangers ready to do some good. She approached to thick looking guards. She lifted her gun to fire upon them, but her fingers wouldn't budge. That was two years ago, two years to learn how to pull a trigger. How long would it take her to learn how to aim. Throwing her gun down she rushed into the Saloon. She then began to hear the soft sing song words of happy birthday. She was missing it, but she couldn't let them see her like this, especially not Ross. Turning she rushed deep into the fort, moving through the cobwebs and catacombs, searching for silence, seeking asylum from herself...and that man. Sarith. Her teeth clenched as tears began to form. Hot and embarrassed, her face flushed red with anger and shame she sought to hide.

Hiro moved away from Fang as he greeted other guests. The droid noted Ross was already getting plenty of gifts which frankly outshone his own. I thought we agreed on a twenty credit limit he thought with an amused head shake. As the lights dimmed he sang along with the happy group and as it ended he saw a shaft of light coming from the entrance shadowed by an incoming figure. Looking over his optics scanned the Togruta he had contacted. Moving through the crowd now circling the cake table, the droid approached the singer and tipped his hat,

"Howdy ma'am welcome to the Saloon, I'm Hiro the one who contacted ya, I'm afraid we lack in dressin rooms an the like but there is an empty bathroom down the hall if you'd like to freshen up before your performance. Speakin a that down yonder is your stage."

Hiro motioned to an upraised platform with a small mic set and some instruments laid out. He knew Vince was good at the piano but didn't know if anyone else was musically inclined.

"Come on out when your ready, thanks again for coming to such a distant place on such a short notice,"

With that he moved to the bar only to spy the girl who had approached him a few weeks prior. Matayn, the girl who seemed so apologetic. He moved over her records, but found little of substance. The droid cursed his memory loss once more as he approached the young woman, more needed to be said assuredly.

"Howdy Matayn, saw that nice little piece you got Ross, wonderful choice a gift,"

 

[PapaChenks]

BLUGH.... The cake which Dorax had just consumed projected from his mouth, he'd had too much, too much food and too much to drink. He felt terrible, he was the chump at the party who could ruin it for anyone by vomiting on them, or saying something offensive due to his honesty when he's intoxicated. As well as this he didn't even have a present. He must have something on his person, he put his right hand into one his pockets. Rummaging around his fingers touched something which might, JUST do, he suddenly remembered something in one his rear, larger compartments on his body armour.

He reached around with his left arm, opening the compartment and pulling out what would be his gift. Not much, but hey, it was the thought that counts right. He didn't know Ross at all well, he couldn't remember if they'd even spoke. Walking up to the birthday boy, he gave the forty year old the mug, a mug which if you poured any liquid into one could then change the temperature of the liquid. Great for making tea at short notice.

He offered it towards Ross, grunting in a beastly manner, flaring his nostrils.

 

[Black Noise]

Matayn smiled genuinely when Ross made his pun. Daxim didn't often make such jokes, and she had never heard them growing up, so the pun was genuinely funny enough to warrant a smile from her rather than the eyeroll it probably deserved. He seemed as though he would say more when a song interrupted him, a song everyone was singing, 'happy birthday.' A funny song, Matayn thought, repeating the same words over and over.

Matayn never had a birthday as a child, mostly due to the fact that she never knew her birthday, it wasn't celebrated on Necropolis. However, she was not so away from the world that she did not know what they were when she was young; they were known and always a wonderful thought when she was young. Now that she was older, it still held wonder to her, despite having had Daxim throw a few for her on the date he deemed was 'just about' her birthday. She sung along, her quiet voice lost in the many around her.

Watching Ross cut the cake with her knife made her feel good, though she unconsciously started to stop showing how happy she felt. A weapon like that was sharp enough to cut off a man's arm without much effort, to see it cutting a fluffy, light baked good gave her hope that even the most deadly of weapons could still be used for things other than murder. Taking a piece, she ate it fairly quickly, wolfing it without thinking(a bad habit developed in her childhood), as she made her way over towards Hiro.

The droid was by the door, finishing up greeting a finely dressed woman, and was already making his way towards her as she approached him. Standing next to him, she nodded as he spoke and replied when he finished.
"In the aftermath of the Mandalorian clans splitting up, many things were lost as entire bases were left in mass exodus, fleeing their own brothers and sister's wrath. The Imperials didn't tend to pick over the Mandalorian quarters very well, found it there along with my own weapons."

Breathing in deeply, she crooked her head and forced bravery into herself.
"B-but, that's not, not what I wanted to talk about."
She moved to his side so that he'd be able to see around him as she spoke, a tinge of anger in her quaking voice, looking down and to her side at Hiro as she continued. Her voice was exceptionally quiet, quiet so that only someone with enhanced hearing, would be able to hear her, and she lowered her voice to that volume purposefully.
"I can sense him, them. You don't know, you're a droid, and that's not your fault, most of these people don't know either and they're living. But, Hiro, why have you let the Jedi here?"

Matayn was no fool, and having spent much time with the Sith, she knew the difference in sensing a Sith and a Jedi. In all honesty, it was fairly easy. There was at least one man here, maybe more, who held the aura of a Jedi. Matayn hated the Sith and the Jedi. The Sith directly hurt Matayn in more ways that one, and the Jedi in her eyes were just Force Users who first caused the Sith to come to the galaxy, then let them rampage without stopping them.

For that, she hated them both fairly equally, and the last thing she wanted was the Sith storming into the Ranger's home looking for Jedi.

 

[Chairdor]

The party was going excellently. As cake continued to be handed out first by Ross and then by Clunky the old Ranger looked down to see he was now covered in gifts and his beard was covered in cake frosting. Lightly licking at the delectable bits stuck inside his manly whiskers the former officer mingled, schmoozed, and moved. As he did he enjoyed the talking, but all the while he remembered the closeness of his old birthdays with his small family on Corsuscant. Blinking he saw the shadow of his past for a moment, an after image left after a flash. They were all there, around the cake Clunky was handing out, eating, smiling. He felt his hands shakes as he could hear their laughter, but all at once it was banished when he heard two massive footsteps come from behind him. Turning slowly and looking up and then further up still he looked upon a massive reptilian face and the skull upon it.

Dorax he thought adjusting his stance to get all the height he could.

Slowly the lizard man's arm compartment opened and Ross reflexively began to move toward his gun, a flinch that lasted an instant and ended quicker that that as he remembered where he was and what he was, safe. A small cup was produced by Dorax who offered it with a flaring nostril. Ross looked at it for a time as his arms seemed to move independent of his will, slowly they rose and took the cup and took a step back from the lizard which astonishing only made the cybernetic creature look more immense. Ross had seen a lot of scary things in his career, the death of a partner, a family, his world, and all the darkness the underworld had to offer, nothing made him more feel less at ease than Dorax however. He knew it wasn't the fellows fault, he'd actually done a lot of good so far for the Rangers but it was an unfortunate instinct in Ross to be afraid of massive robotic reptiles.

"Thank ya kindly partner...you uh...you look a lil sick, why don't you get some fresh air or the like, maybe lie down?"

As Ross spoke to Dorax and handled his new gift, Archimedes was slowly recovering from his extremely arousing foxy grandpa dance. Finishing off the water he cracked his back and thought of the possibility of sleep, but when he turned he found Vince smiling at him. Leaping with a bit of shock he turned around to see the bar lacking a tender which was somewhat comforting as he feared Vince had suddenly been cloned or had an evil cross-dimensional twin, possibilities far more likely than most people realized. Confident in the structural integrity of his friends genetic structure and of the space-time continium he spoke,

"Well hello Vince, what brings ya outside the bar, I'll be honest I forgot what your legs looked like,"

Vince gave a mettalic chuckle through his new voice modulator and replied, "Well take a good long gander, there gonna be behind a piano soon enough. You got the bar okay?"

It wasn't a question. As Vince walked over to take his place and begin to play a few simple Saloon Tunes the old inventor looked first behind the vacant bar and then before it to see quite a few impatient people nesting bar side with drinks glittering with exposed ice cubes. Archimedes had asked Vince once that if ice was so expensive why did he put so much ice in the drinks, he had explained it wasn't ice it was a non toxic coolant substance Ross had mistakenly bought for their ships only to realize it didn't work for their particular models. Wasn't any side effects except for blue urine if you drank too much. Archimedes thought that was damn brilliant, also he was relieved to find out why he had been pissing blue after nights of elongated excitement.

Gulping he took another look at the empty bar and Saw Alfred would be of no help as he was still sending out trays of food and cleaning dishes. Standing up slowly Archimedes moved behind the bar and looked to a scarred man who looked to be a former soldier,

"Drink?" he asked with a slight waver.

"Whiskey," he replied and so the inventor whisked away until his whiskers whiffed whiskey. Returning with the bottle he slowly poured into a glass and added the cooling cubes and handed the man a drink. He thought he had done quite well until he saw that ten more customers had popped up in the meantime. Romancing with despair Archimedes suddenly saw two pairs of blue and purple hands began to grab drinks and begin mixing them. He heard a faint whisper say,

"Write down orders," and looked with a faint grin as the Two Twi'lek dancers expertly began to send out drinks to a line of drinkers that looked progressively happier and less thirsty. Going down the line he began to take order which were whipped up in a flash as he fed them to his two 'assistants'. Continuing on the inventor kept up a cheerful grin as this unexpected duty brought him unexpected friendship as well

Across the party Hiro looked upon Matayn, a girl he had known for sometime but had lost so much of. While the droid knew he had lost a good bit of himself on his strange and unexplained walkabout, he knew he had returned changed. He could see it in the way people reacted, he wasn't as congenial with old friends, he was out of the loop on his own inside jokes, he had forgotten names, dates, places, lessons. For a moment he had flirted with the idea that he wasn't Hiro at all, just a droid who looked like him sent out to replace him, imitate him, live the life he had lost. However the damages he had suffered matched his friends tales, the recognition he had all aligned, and most importantly he had bits of memory, sometimes as little as a millisecond long, which meant he either had imperfectly deleted his old memory, or they weren't deleted at all they were merely suppressed.

This calculation lingered in Hiro's mental processors as Matayn spoke on how she acquired the interesting gift for Ross. He could tell she meant to say something next intuition, perhaps another memory, an impression on this intriguing and powerful Ranger. When Hiro had seen Matayn's rather small file of information he saw she had a psychological profile made by Daxim, he had wanted to read it to reaqauint himself with her, but Daxim seemed rather protective of the information, confidential he called it, creepy he called the droids reasons for needing to read it. Hiro had lingered on that idea awhile and came to the conclusion Daxim was right, even if he had read the files he only would have seen Matayn through Daxim's eyes and not his own optic sensors. While he knew he could never be as he was and how they were, he was determined to at least be similar. And that began by listening.

Hiro looked to the young woman as she looked up at him with intensity and began to speak to him on her topic of original intent. Focusing his sensors fully upon her the din of the crowd was drowned out as Matayn's every syllable was meticulously absorbed and looked over for tonal inflection, meaning, and purpose. Nodding at appropriate times the droid listened as she spoke on the others not knowing about the jedi in their midst, it was true he had set out to forge his agreement with the order without telling the others, he had felt it was the right thing to do. As Matayn spoke it had only then occurred to him the impact his actions might have on others who wished to take no part in greater conflicts, especially archaic feuds. Still , seeing countless holocrons on sith lore and comparing them to Jedi goals, he saw evil in Sith success and only a similar evil in Jedi failing. Noting her look of concern and the strength it took her to bring this up to him the droid took some time to speak. Finding the words he began,

"His name is Leucien Fang, he is a member of the jedi order I spoke to and made a compact with. I've looked over their history an well I reckon I saw my reflection in a way. They're a people who wish for a justice an a peaceful galaxy, a universe that allows freedom and has nothin but contempt for the extremities of order."

He got quiet for a moment before continuing,

"Like us they lost their home, like us they have powerful enemies who wish nothing but their deaths and the destruction of their ideals...Matayn they're scared...that may seem like a strange thing to say about such powerful warriors an all, but...call it a feelin I can't really get any data on why...why I know that."

He knew this half-explanation may not be enough to sate the young girls...curiosity, fear, agitation. Hiro looked over her face and saw all of those flecked with unknown shifts and shades of emotion. He recognized the visage, but it was a mask to him, an unknown figure lurked just beneath and if he could just pull it off he might know. He couldn't he knew, he could never go back to that moment of meeting, but still, maybe there was a flicker of memory left about Matayn and if not, Hiro would start over. Like he had so many times before.

Deep in the corridors of the Saloon Gray continued to rush seeking some solace, something to do to show she wasn't as worthless as she felt. Unconsciously her path shifted towards a place she knew, the garage. Heading towards the place she had fled to after her first failing as a ranger she thought of fixing again, of being in the background. Thoughts of her stupid idea, The Forward Scouts, fled from her fearing the wrath of her impotent inadequate rage. Almost there, tears still streaming down her face she began to hear a voice. Stopping and falling into the shadows of the unlit corridor she looked out to see a Freighter ship and a woman with blue hair standing bye it. She was shouting at someone unseen. Rubbing her eyes in fear she might be spotted Gray remembered herself. Gray, it was the name she took after The Weeping, it was a name free of the fear Scalia had. She had to be strong, it wasn't a matter of her nature, it had to be a choice.

So it was, she chose to suck it up, to look natural, to walk further into the garage and seek out the gun rack. It hadn't been all her aim after all, there was always something to tweak and repair on a firearm. Not looking at the blue haired woman as she walked past she unholstered her slugthrower and slapped it on the bench opening it to let its spent casings clatter to the floor she looked into it, into that which gave her the power to kill, the same device that took her parents. She saw a tool, a tool to be used for both evil and good, and a tool quite useless for evil until it was fixed. So Gray did what she could do. That was her choice.

 

[PapaChenks]

"I've been a little sick for" he looked down at his wrist as if to pretend that there was a watch "...best part of a decade. But yeah, all this alcohol, it has been a while since I last consumed this much. Though give it five minutes and the bonuses of being part cyborg come into their own as all my blood is filtered. Tell me, next year, 'ya want a razor?"

Dorax spoke smirkingly. It wasn't that he didn't respect authority, but he did enjoy levelling it occasionally with a bit of banter. He'd noted that he was intimidating the older ranger, probably due to his large size, many at his party chose to back away from him rather than make conversation. Mostly it had been the droids who didn't have the same concept of fear as the more organic life forms had.

The night was dragging but Dorax a remade much of his energy. "Say Ross, do you what the roll is for touching?" Dorax asked, gesturing at the Twi'lek Dancers. While Dorax had never been removed from a club because on inappropriate behaviour, Dorax put that down to his size, though in this instance he decided that it would probably be best if he didn't lose any would be friends through his actions. In addition, in the Ranger's ranks there were a lot of strong willed females who probably would ignore is size and confront him.

 

[Fang.]

Fang shook hands with Ross and wished him a happy birthday before Hiro kicked him off back into the party. Fang chuckled, it was nice to see that some people in the galaxy could just let go and have fun, he couldnt. Fang was with Hiro for only a few moments more before the Ranger was distracted by something else and walked off into the crowd. Not being very Social, Fang moved back and leaned against a wall, happy to observe the Rangers interact here. Yes He could think of some other Jedi who would fit right in here.

 

[Black Noise]

Matayn listened closely, Hiro's words held truth to them, but Matayn's own experiences clouded her judgement and caused her heart to harden to his words. Since Matayn never had a good family of her own, or any family for that matter, she counted the Rangers as her family. Estranged, possibly, but family nonetheless. A family's ties were not easily broken, a war on Zonju V did not break them, solitude did not break them, but if the Sith came...

The Sith were demons, monsters in the form of beings both kind and strange. They came in packs, killing, destroying, harming anyone good in their path and tainting all they laid their hands upon. If the Jedi were here, they would attract the attention of the Sith, and if the attention of the Sith was piqued then Matayn didn't know what she would do, or even what she could do. Perhaps it was selfish to want to keep her family to herself, to not share them with the Jedi no matter how much in need they were, but it was selfishness that, in Matayn's opinion, was more than justified.

However, she did not argue with Hiro, partly because it was simply not her nature, but mostly because she trusted Hiro. Trust with Matayn was not something easily earned, in fact, only two people alive held any scrap of it. Hiro, and Daxim, they were the only ones Matayn let into her heart. Reaching out, she patted the side of Hiro's face, crooked her head, and spoke quietly.
"I don't trust them, I don't like them, I don't think I ever will. But, I trust you. Just, please be careful."

At that, she would move away, moving to slip out. The party was still ongoing, but Matayn felt if she stayed then all she would end up doing would be to hide in a corner, away from the eyes of the others.

 

[Chairdor]

Hiro recognized the touch upon his face, his logic sensors notified him of the touch, his heat sensors felt the warmth. He didn't feel it though. He listened to her explain herself, he couldn't blame her as he continued to see something dark behind her tired eyes, the droid felt a black ocean beneath those pools and as it drew him in at the same time it pushed him away. As he watched her go he wondered with some frustration mainly at himself, who are you...truly.

He nearly fell into a stupor over that thought, but he was knocked out of it when a couple approached the mic and a few others took up instruments. Vince stopped his piano playing for a bit sitting back as the couple, Mary and Krieg Wallis, began to sing a favorite tune on the wastes. As Hiro listened to the two and witnessed the love shimmering in their eyes as they held hands while singing he felt a surge of positive feedback. This pair was from the Federated Republic and in saving them he had angered a lot of people, like helping the Jedi there may be danger, but it was for a greater good. He was doing the right thing, he just had to show Matayn that.

Across the bar Archimedes and Aola and Nima his two Twi'lek helpers had ceased their drink making as many on the bar had ceased their drinking to listen to the short tune. By it's end the old man felt a moistness in his eyes that he swiftly set to drying with his sleeve. He heard a unison of awws and looked to see his two assistants looking at him with sympathetic smiles as he grinned sheepishly. Before long people ordered more drinks again and the trio worked hard to satisfy all comers.

Meanwhile Ross stuck about with Dorax and was slowly getting less nervous around the big lizard. While he was gigantic and drunk and talking about razors for some reason the old ranger figured he was pretty much harmless unless you happened to be a terrorist. While Dorax had said that his blood would filter in around five minutes the old officer figured he was still pretty drunk when the lizard muttered some absolute gibberish about a roll and touching and the purpose inherent in that while gesturing towards the two Twi'lek barmaids. Looking up at the big guy he just kind of grinned for a moment before saying,

"What?"

Moving further into the garage to the enclosed space within Gray began to work on her gun. Immediately she noted a millimeter error and swiftly corrected it with a few tweaks. Many guys over the years asked her why she got into an engineering position when it took a lot of strength, but really using brute force in any repair was a last resort that often did more harm than good. Repair was one part parts, two parts not being a clumsy idiot which girls were better at than guys in her opinion though frankly shed seen quite a few doofs representing the female population as well, so I guess Gray just thought she was the best.

The best Grays mind turned to the shootout contest and her reaction, it wasn't fitting of a Ranger and she still was that. Looking down at the half taken apart gun she remembered all the guns she fixed all the speeder bikes she slapped together, and all the times she patched up Hiro. She would not fade into the background again. Sure, she was gonna fix her gun, but afterward she had every intention of using it.

 

[PapaChenks]

Ross obviously hadn't understood what he was saying. Dorax, not one to repeat himself, smiled. "Arm wrestle? Na, I'm just messing, so where are you from in this galaxy? What's your story? And why in heck are you on Zonju V?" Dorax asked his partner, whilst holding himself up my placing one his large hands on Ross's shoulder to support his drunken body.