The gesture of the stranger betrayed his years, his inexperience. However it also showed his firmness, a certain demeanor that Varel found alien to him in a way a high tide was different from a low tide. Or at least that's what he suspected, more information was needed to make a proper decision, everything else was just an assumption. Leaving the drink the newcomer pushed untouched on the table, Varel took a sip of his own Whiskey and gestured his new friend to sit down. "I know for certain that we'll definitely be exposed if you don't act like you are a part of this place," he said and slightly nodded towards the alcohol. "Drink. They will think something is wrong with you if you don't." "My name is Varel," the zabrak said, his red skin hidden among the blackness of his robe, "Tell me, what does a creature like you doing in a place like this? I suspect that a higher force was responsible for this meeting and maybe we can figure out something out of all this to benefit us both."
Rtora's fists clenched briefly. Got to calm down somehow, fear leads nowhere. He looked at the glass of liquor and contemplated on actually drinking it. He sat on the opposite side of the table and reached for the glass, hand pausing halfway for a brief moment before he picked it up. He pressed one of his mask's control switches by his glass jaw, opening up the mask's lower parts, exposing his mouth. Rtora quickly chugged the drink down his throat, that's how he had seen his father do it. Almost immediately after he managed to swallow it all he started to cough, his eyes watered a little. "Rtora." he wheezed and wiped his mouth. "My name is Rtora." Once his breath had steadied he continued. "I'm looking for someone close to me. I've been hopping between planets and space stations for a while now. Relying only on its guidance for direction." Rtora couldn't shake the feeling that this robed zabrak Varel felt murky in the Force to him. Not just the Force either, the whole ensemble of Varel flared up some kind of minor warning signals. Still, he didn't want to be cowed when faced by doubt and fear. Rtora stared Varel in the eye from under his silver mask, back straight and still tense. @Colapse
"Rtora. Pleasure to meet you," Varel replied and took another sip from the glass. "You see Rtora, I might be able to help you out with that. I too am looking for someone, someone like you and me." "There is a place, on a moon orbiting a distant planet, the place hidden out of sight by a deep jungle. A place with a call strong enough to guide the travelers and offer them sanctuary, the travelers like you and me, and perhaps a few of our kind as well. My plan is to go there and find protection myself, while also trying to find any knowledge I can on a person dear to me. Perhaps the someone you're looking for has gone there as well so maybe you can accompany me on this trip? In my opinion, it's better if we stick together." "I'm in the process of finding a ship that would transport me...us to this place, so perhaps you could assist me with it? I have couple of leads but the offers are not entirely to my liking, but another, fresh, perspective might help me with the decision?"
Rtora's eyes narrowed to slits. He was quiet a moment, weighing his options. This is the best lead he has had in a long while. Although, he feared if he would be laid astray. During his early travels he had met swindlers and scoundrels who wanted nothing more than cheat him out of credits. Trust was hard to come by, these days. So he kept the sinister looking zabrak at arm's length. "If this turns out to be a trap, know that I am not helpless. I can solve conflict, forcefully if necessary." Rtora cracked his knuckles idly, his sight roamed about the cantina as he processed all this. "We're in this together." He pressed the table with a finger to emphasize. "Our goals align, so I'll lend you my assistance, for now. How would we proceed, do you have a pilot?"
Docking Bay A113 Issagra Space Station "Hah, chuba, I love the smell of this place! Smells like the industrial serf to the Blur's sophisticated lady, eh?" And there she was. The green-tinged humanoid that constituted the other half of the Blur's crew bounded down the ramp and landed with cat-like agility, before she dashed towards the Captain. Kina had to brace herself for impact, putting out her arms to catch the Zelosian's sides and dampen the impact of her pounce. It was not because the sudden affection was in any way unwanted, but for the simple fact that Kina felt no strong desire to go crashing to the floor within seconds of landing. Once she had convinced herself of the necessity of leaving the Blur, the First Mate usually needed some form of reception; Kina took no issue with that. Her catch was deft and practiced, the twi'lek's arms absorbing the force of the charge before easing the Zelosian into her embrace. She released her quickly enough, they hadn't come here to hug, though one arm remained around the Zelosian's waist. The excitable First Mate usually needed a leash. "Let's hope this bastard Issagra treats our Blur right, eh? He better!" The Zelosian thrust her fist into the air with all the bravado of the gunfighters in the holovids, shaking it at their surroundings. Kina threw a conscious glance about, noting that the dock workers gave them plenty of space as they went about their tasks. She looked back to Zin and met her eyes, sharing a private grin. "Come to think of it, he better treat us right too!" Last time I was here, the drinks sucked, and the food was worse!" Zin confided in her, and shook her jovially, but the bubbly camaraderie was punctuated with a more tender tug closer. "I hope they fired that chef," she finished. Kina murmured her assent. "Too far from Corellia," she mused, lopsided smile on her face as she regarded her First Mate. "Where they serve coolant better than the swill they've got on tap here," she declared, breaking into a rueful grin. Her hand leapt up from the Zelosian's waist to the back of her head, fingers pushing into her hair and ruffling it. "But it's better than stale water rations. Come now, let's hit the Harvest," Kina decided, leading her friend out of the docking bay and into an elevator, which took them to the Issagra's commercial level. Issagra Commercial Level The elevator opened into the bustling, writhing mass that was the Issagra's commercial level, where every large corridor was like a street onto itself, full of stalls and mobile kitchens and vendors touting their wares to passersby. A hundred spacers milling to and fro each of these, and a hundred more just wanting to go about their business, only added to the chaos. You could get anything on Issagra, ranging from spare ship parts to illegal blaster mods to spice. It was just about knowing the right people. The chief danger was that you risked your credit chip whenever you stepped ashore here, the other was that you might risk earning more than bruises defending it. Kina weaved through the throngs of merchants and prospective buyers without much thought. It was all instinct to her, maneuvering the masses. An arm around Zin's waist kept the Zelosian close at hand, the Captain sometimes glancing back to check on her. She was a twitchy and flighty individual, the only way to keep her still was to put her behind the controls of a fast vehicle. The Captain caught her eye and smiled. Still there.
Leashed by the long arm of her Captain, Zin leaned into the Twi'lek for the first few steps, but soon resolved to carry her own weight and walked upright, left hand in her pocket and the right resting on Kina's - both an affectionate gesture and a way to conceal her readiness to quickdraw. It would be a blatant lie to claim she didn't enjoy being close to her master and commander, but nevertheless she didn't want to appear too cuddly with her in public. Where her body firmly remained on the loving leash of the lekku-bearer, her eyes seemed to wander and run wild as they always did, taking in the sights that weren't the endless void for once. Spaceflight required much focus. Shore leave gave her strained mind time to wander, and her eyes danced to the beat. From the storefronts to the people, from the glowing letters into the dark corners, she looked at everything there was to look at. It was a partial caution, and a major curiosity. For a moment, she looked in Kina's face, resting there for a moment and watching her smile. Belatedly, she responded, "I'll take bad water over good coolant any day, tenya." Getting stuck on a passing Ithorian, Zin elaborated, speaking away from her. "You ever checked what's in there? It's good for ships, but not for people." Her tone was candid, genuinely explanatory. As they came close to their usual spot, a cantina by the name of Blue Harvest, Zin took hold of the hand that restrained her. "You can release me now, we're at the enclosure. Won't go and chase a rat, promise!" The woman grinned before moving for the door.
The Blue Harvest; Exterior @Casavay @Kalle A roar could be heard coming from the proximity of The Blue Harvest's entrance. The crowd scrambling to get out of the way, while others gathered around shouting and cheering. What glimpses could be seen through the growing crowd were of fur and scales as the two combatants swung at each other. Security guards started trying to push through the crowd but were being stalled in their efforts by the crowd that seemed to be taking bets on the victor already. Safely outside of the circle of the cheering crowd, Kinda and Zin could make out what appeared to be a Wookiee and Trandoshan fighting over who knew what. Some of the other station's patrons merely giving the fight a wide berth while continuing on their own business, others awestruck by the spectacle that theirs seemed unable to escape. The whole time shouts and orders coming from the Station Security to clear the way falling on deaf ears. @bossaroo Within the inner circle of the fighting, the B2 was front and center for the action! Even without knowing the cause of the fight the droid knew his employers wouldn't want such activity directly in front of their place of business. The fight raging around the area could easily make its way inside The Blue Harvest who's business was already being impacted by the gathered crowd blocking patrons. Each impact sending fur, blood and spit splattering across the area and cheering crowd. If something was done soon a riot could easily consume this section of the commercial district. The Blue Harvest; Interior @Colapse @Wata @Vlayden Inside several of the patrons flocked towards the doors as the sounds could be heard carrying inside. It wasn't clear what was happening outside, but from the sounds of it a brawl had started. Most patrons just gave the door way a mere glance before continuing what they were doing. The silence across the cantina only a minuscule amount of time as a full roar from the multiple conversations resumed. Only a few of the pilots disappearing from the commotion outside. Most of the others were used to things of this nature and didn't seem to scare too easily. Perhaps the fight was a blessing, as it had thinned the herd of prospective pilots of those with weaker constitution.
B2-81 was in the process of doing its very best to comprehend the question of 'if hypserspace is faster than light how can their be light in hyperspace ?' When the roar had derailed his train of thought putting the answer all the farther from the the Droids grasp and it did its best to dampen the synthetic fury that coursed through it as it headed for the center of the brawl , blood and spit splatter across its Duranium hide as its right arm righted itself and twisted to firing configuration. The Sound of a blaster and the blue rings of energy flew through the air into the Wookiee the old protocols still holding true , attack the target that can cause the most damage . "CEASE AND DESIST" the booming base resounded from the droid. As it advanced into the bout trying to place itself between the Trandoshn and hopefully stunned wookiee
Blue Harvest; Exterior Kina released the First Mate without objection, but something else drew her eye; the crowd outside the cantina seemed rowdier than usual, and when a sudden whoop and a distinct roar rose from the midst of a tight gathering of pedestrians. The cheering that followed could only mean a fight. She glanced aside to the Zelosian. "Don't go far," she said, before she dove into the crowds, attempting to squeeze through to see what was going on. Her relatively small stature and natural agility let her slip through the crowds with more ease than she had any right to, and she appeared in the front of the crowd to spot the wookiee being blasted. Then, she regarded the big droid between the two fighters. She rushed to the wookiee's side, looking up at the bouncer droid, putting on her biggest smile. "Oh, hey, heh heh, sorry about the trouble, friend, this big, ol' carpet's had a bit much to drink and he wandered off," she explained, blathering to buy herself time and dropping to her knee by the wookiee to check on him. "He didn't mean nothing, he just gets a bit excited when he's had one too many, you know what these wookiees are like, right?" she said, slipping her arms in under the wookiee to try help him up.
@Wata "Of course, I wouldn't dream of lying to you Rtora," Varel replied, the tone serious but it was anyone's guess if he actually meant it. In any case, zabrak didn't look like he gave the idea much thought as he emptied the glass and rose up from his seat, his lips twisting into a smile. "I don't have anyone in mind, but I'll trust my instincts on this one. You know how they say right?" with a grin, Varel walked past the crowd, ignoring whatever happened in the front of the cantina and let the Force guide him as he made his decision. He would look for a pilot with enough fire in his or hers eyes, the one that wouldn't be cowed easily and the one looking professional enough not to ask too many questions. Of course, he couldn't really know the details so relied on his instinct, trusting the feel he had when he approached a pilot rather than the looks he had. It was of course a shot in the dark but then again, the darkness was Varel's close friend so he was sure it would not lead him astray.
