Is Brea, Solyiat Kiast System 42 ABY
“I bet you’re glad that we kept our armor on, huh? Temperature readings are cloaking in just ten standard therms above freezing,” noted Bril, who walked with one arm loosely slung about the midsection of the woman who accompanied him.
Minnow, who was dressed in rose gold Mandalorian armor, gave him a quick bump with her hip. “Yeaaah, Kitty, this one is pretty low on my ‘places to come back to list’. I can’t feel my headtails this is awwfuuul.”
“Well, let’s hurry and get you inside, then. It should be a lot warmer there.”
A howling wind rolled into the room when the couple stepped inside The Squealing Mynock. Greeted by the twangy, plangent notes of a rodian woman who strummed a hallikset in the corner, and the faint smell of cigarra smoke, they made their way over to the first set of empty seats at the bar they saw.
“Now this is the kind of tune I like to hear. Like an old bantha-boy holo,” the zabrak cracked a grin, “Meowdy, y’all.”
He could feel his nautolan rolling her eyes as soon as he said it. “You have to let that go, babe.”
“Never.”
After greeting the husky er’kit bartender with a nod, he plucked one of the little holoprojector disks from a stack to his right and tapped it to display a holomenu of the drinks they served.
“The Boba Rekt is always good,” said Minnie, “Plus it’s pink.”
“I think I’ll go with the Port in the Storm.”
Once they were decided, Bril ordered for them and placed the holoprojector back in the stack. The bartender left to prepare their drinks.
Yuki lounged in the palanquin she had hired as transport from the landing area. The four large men made not a single sound as they wound their way through the streets. The Nagaian woman had grown more than accustomed to this type of treatment over the years. As the litter stopped and was set down, the mercenary looked through the semi-sheer curtains with a nod.
“This will do. Thank you.” Her soft, lyrical voice came from within the lacquered walls moments before telling small doors were opened. Getting out and stretching slightly, Yuku tested the mobility of her cybernetic fingers, wrist, elbow and finally the shoulder.
It had been years since the original was lost on Nancorra, but her daughter-in-law persisted on “just one more upgrade”. With a shake of her head, Yuki turned towards the cantina.
Stepping through the entryway, the woman’s attire almost screamed that this was not a normal place for her. The ambient light seemed to shimmer across the cloth and the pristine white of the outfit was a sight in and of itself. A quick glance around at the patrons and she surged to herself, her mechanical hand seeking to open and close of its own volition.
Yuki stepped up to the bar and smiled at the bartender. “Whyren’s Reserve and a pack of cigarras.”
The man bobbed his head in acknowledgement. “Of course, Lady Suoh.”
The Nagai settled on one of the stools to wait for her drink, eyeing the surrounding booths for a vacant one.
Ryuu, dressed in a plain black kendogi, walked away from the landing area passing the palanquin returning from The Squealing Mynock and sighed. “Well, she’s here.” he thought to himself as the Nagai stepped inside. Looking around, it was painfully easy to find who he was here to meet and walked towards the bar where his sister was standing.
“Oh lady Suoh is it now, I guess you come here a lot.” he said, emphasizing lady just to give her a hard time before gesturing to the bartender, “Just a Corellian rum, neat.”
Turning back to Yuki he asked, “So what did you want to talk about that you had me come here?”
Damn. This is looking like a high profile scene. The Inquisitor’s eyes glimmered as he noted several interesting people at the bar as he entered. It wasn’t every day there was a palanquin roaming around that wasn’t attached to Yuki, or so he had been informed. Additionally, the people from outside the Clan or the system were of interest.
It had not been difficult to get the information of their arrival. Running into Suoh had not been in his plans however. Still, always good to send a message.
The Kiffar got the attention of the bartender after he had finished making the drinks, pointing out Yuki and the two he had come to keep tabs on. “Those three will drink on my tab. If they ask, its a gift of a night out from an old friend.”
The bartender shrugged.
“Oh and can you set one of the monitors to the Solyait Shockboxing League? I have some money on an upcoming fight and want to see some of the new cruiserweights.” The boxer smiled at the bartender.
Tonight probably isn’t a drinking night. Though I could go for some spicebrew.
Jovian stood at the port side of the ship as it circled above ‘Is this the place? It’s not my first choice of date, but whatever’ Jovian rolled his eyes and continued to look down from the Star Courier. It slowly descended into the atmosphere, and space slowly faded away ‘What brought you here?’ Jovian continued to semi-ignore the handsome fair blue chiss. Jovian moved from the window and started to gather his pack together and some of the Chiss things, too ‘Are you going to at least call me?’Jovian swung on the dark capelet and spun around to the Chiss; this was the first time since arriving that Jovian actually made eye contact with the scarlet-eyed man “Watch out, Chiss, you’re starting to sound desperate…” The man sucked air between his teeth and laughed; he walked to Jovian and placed a small pouch of credits in his hand. Though Jovian and this man had a history, Jovian enjoyed the all too temporary company and casual companionship. (p1)
The ship landed on the frost-bitten surface, and Jovian pulled up the hood on the capelet; he disembarked. The bar wasn’t far and it was too cold to be in it for any amount of time.
As Jovian reached the bar doors, the strong wind howled and pushed them open, but he managed to slam them shut. The atmosphere was thick with cigarra and was a complete one-eighty from the hoarfrost outside. With a swift turn of his head, he surveyed the room, taking in the sights and sounds around him. As he walked towards the bar, he pulled down his hood, revealing his glistening skin that was damp with sweat due to the temperature difference. He made his way to the centre of the bar, positioning himself strategically to observe the room while remaining inconspicuous. Despite his efforts to blend in, he couldn’t help but feel a desire to be the centre of attention. The bartender was busy making drinks and Jovian set credits on the bar, a barback; a thin Gamorrian walked in front of the huskier one and looked at Jovian “One Rhodian Spice, please” His voice had a distinct quality to it - deep and rough around the edges, with a peculiar non-rhotic accent that set it apart from others. He often wondered about the origins of this unique way of speaking, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t trace it back to any specific influence or experience. Despite this mystery, his voice remained a defining characteristic that left a lasting impression on those who heard it. (p2)
Yuki gave her brother a slashing glance with a bit of a wince, noticing his homespun clothing. “You could at least let me indulge myself so you have something a bit fancier than that coarseweave you insist on wearing, Ryuu.”
She stepped back from the bar as the two drinks were set down, a slight smile on her lips as the bartender passed the message he was given to her and the pair of armoured people still at the bar. Yuki gave them a once over, up and down, before she shrugged and walked over to a booth that had several rough looking customers seated within. Imperiously, the Nagaian woman snapped her fingers sharply and jerked a thumb away from the table. The exchange lasted for nothing more than a few seconds as the toughs stood almost meekly and walked off to find another place to sit.
The mercenary gestured to the booth and slid into the seat, the soft shhhh of her wide leg pants across the leather of the bench made the woman smile even as the other Nagai sat down. “And yes, brother. Lady Suoh. You would be Lord Suoh if you stopped punching icebergs and meditating in caverns long enough to enjoy the life you have.” She gestured around her with a grin as she pulled one of the cigarras from the pack and lit it with a small taper of flame from a nearby hot box.
Taking a drag from it, she blew the smoke out slowly as she watched her brother. “You spent all your energy being poor that I work doubly hard to be hedonistic. The way I act is partially your own fault.” She laughed softly as she spotted the Kiffar watching the holoscreen before looking back at her own companion. “Listen, Ryuu. I have a problem I think I’m going to need your help with. I found another…stray, as it were and she’s currently resting on the island. I’ll let you know when to come visit, but I think both of us will be needed to help her find a better path than the one she is going to end up on.”
Ryuu looked at his sister, his brow furled as he studied her. “A feeling or has my niece seen something?” he asked, his voice concerned but not worried.
Yuki nodded slightly, acknowledging both statements. “Both, actually. Xin comes by her gifts naturally as much as we eschew part of our heritage. But,” she started before the words faded off as the doors slammed open and then closed, leaving next to them a blood-red Twi’lek in a cape. “Gods above. This place is always interesting, wouldn’t you agree, brother mine?”
Yuki studied the Twi’lek who had just entered as she took a sip from her whiskey with a slight grin on her face. “How very curious to see so many new people all at once and so very few old friends. I wonder what else today will bring.”
Well it was sure a kind of crowd. While they sipped their drinks, Minnie turned naturally to people watching, an interest the couple shared, if on different wavelengths of a spectrum at times. The where a few oddballs. In short order they watched a lady(?) get let down out of a palanquin like a Hutt outside before coming in in a white ensemble Minnie quickly snapped pics of for her fashion-minded brother to review. She(?) was with another person that could’ve been related. And then there was a guy(?) in a cape storming in in Totally Sith Or Something strut.
Indeed, she was glad they’d worn their armor. Not only for the extra insulation but also because jediit flocked in these parts, and not all were the allies her Zabrak might want them to be.
Minnie nudged his arm, signing to him, slowly and with repetition so that he could catch it; he was still learning after all, and it wasn’t as constant in their house as Foxen and Flyndt’s.
What you think you of them?
Bril took another sip of his drink, enjoying the not-so-subtle bite of the fresh ginger within it. It reminded him a little of home, where the hardy rhizome was a common ingredient in several Iridonian dishes. Despite only briefly glancing about the bar to construct a mental image of its occupants, Bril paid more attention to them in the Force. Like the efflorescence of an Iridonian desert orchid, his senses, always active to some degree but attenuated for the sake of his own sanity, opened to the wellspring of the Living Force. And in came all that precious information for his mind to process.
This Lady Suoh felt cold, calculating, and somewhat unpredictable. Her potential in the Force was there, but it didn’t appear to be anything of note. Whether that was actually the case or the result of Concealment remained to be seen. She was one to watch. Carefully.
The nagai man, who was presumably her sibling if their conversation was an indication, was also minimally Force sensitive. He felt more goodness in him than his counterpart, and a relatable mix of sibling-induced cocern and irritation.
The twi'lek, who was dressed in Nightsister armor (sometihng he’d have to investigate further later), was a Force adept whose power fell somewhere the range typical of a journeyman. From him, Bril felt a distinctly prevenient anxiousness … what was he planning to do?
<:BrilSymbol:1229273661266067506>
The last person who stood out was the kiffar. Dressed in the historic armor of members of the Jedi order’s Temple Guard and possessing a signature that he recognized as being aligned with the Light and being in similar strength to his own, nothing about him strayed from his expectations of a member of Odan-Urr. At least that’s what he thought until he paid closer attention to how the Living Force flowed around him; more accurately, it flowed away from him like blood finding new paths around a wound that had scarred long ago. He’d never felt anything like it. It was sometihng he’d have to discuss with his masters later and consult his growing compendium of writings on the Force.
Everything he observed, he conveyed to Minnow in sign. He was getting faster after all of their lessons, but it still took him a bit.
<@244244163002892288>
Minnow’s brows furrowed just slightly as she took in the information Bril conveyed piecemeal. Particularly the jediit, the one in Nightsister garb, and whatever was going on with the ‘empty" point in the Force seemed concerning, but when wasn’t anything, with the Force? Still, they were just in a bar. It should be safe enough. She elected to focus on the weedier social bits that might bother her Kitty.
Do you want to talk to them? she nodded subtly to the Twi'lek, then fanned her fingers around them. Any? I start if yes?
Jovian took a moment to relax and leaned his back against the cool surface of the counter. As he set down his credits, he let his gaze wander around the room, taking in the details of his surroundings. The subdued lighting cast soft shadows on the walls, highlighting the various objects on display. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly burned ciggara, mingling with the gentle hum of conversation from the other patrons. As he glanced around the room, his attention was suddenly caught by a couple in the corner. Jovian couldn’t help but notice the strength in their demeanor; As he watched the couple, he noticed that they were signing subtly to each other. Just as he was about to continue observing them, the barback interrupted his thoughts and handed him his drink. Taking a drink, he continued to allow his eyes to wonder around the room.
Tisto streched as he sat back, watching the shock boxing match. He took great care to study the fighters, though he had forgotten which one he was fighting next week. His eyes would occasionally go from the screen to monitoring the room.
So many interesting people. Should I cover more tabs?
After a moment, the inquisitor went back to the bar. “Send the three whose tab I’m covering another of the same thing the ordered.”
The Bartender nodded in response as Tisto walked back to his seat. Nah. The rest aren’t particularly worth watching.
Some nerd in nightsister gear and that guy talking to Yuki didn’t interest the boxer in the slightest. Truthfully he didn’t care much for Yuki, but he had interacted with her before he left Odan-Ur. It would be rude to not send drinks to her.
He went back to watching the match. Neither of these two are particularly good.
Just before Bril answered, a server droid rolled over to them, carrying their drinks on a metal platter.
“For you, paid for by the gentlemen in the corner, there,” it said in the mechanical flatness typical of many droids while gesturing toward him with photoreceptors that glowed a pale blue.
He gave Minnow a look to convey his suspicion before rising to his feet, gesturing for her to follow. Their journey across the bar was short, and it ended at Tisto’s table, which Bril tapped on with his finger to catch the man’s attention.
<@224587844432166912>
The boxer sighed as his attempt to watch the match was properly disrupted. He looked over at the armor pair that approached. Not exactly subtle types are they? The inquisitors eyes bounced between them for a few seconds before he shrugged and looked back at the match.
“Not a fan of the drinks?” Tisto asked, seeming curious. “Feel free to order whatever, your tab is fully covered tonight. Go, enjoy yourselves. I want to see who wins.”
The Inquisitor adjusted to a far more lazy position in his seat as he watched the match.
Minnie put on a friendly but nonetheless skeptical tone, bouncing right up in front of Bril to lean on the bar a seat away from their ‘patron.’ “Yaaaaaah I dunno, seems kinda sketch, my guy, just sending drinks and covering the tab for some strangers but telling them to go away when they come to chat? Like, that screams ulterior motive, and has all sorts of troubling parasocial implications about perceived debt and all yeah? Like sure you could be some nice rich anonymous person and you regularly bankroll randoms at places you go, fully intending to remain anonymous and just not that social, right? It’s totally cool to be generous but not comfy socializing! But if that was the case you probably wouldn’t have sent the drinks too or had the bartender not tell who it was, so what’s up?”
The inquisitor yawned slowly. “Or I want to see which one of these two is the best then I would come and talk. I’m fighting one of them in a week or two. Seems the competition really has gone down hill since I have been gone.”
The boxer gestures at the pair of them. “I just think the pair of you are interesting. All that armor, the weapons. This isn’t even one of the shadier places in Is Brea. Then again if you aren’t from around here I can respect the look.”
Tisto offered a lazy smile before turning to look back at the match. “Shame. Hoped you might be fans. But it has been quite some time since I have been around. Suppose I gotta earn fans again the hard way. Try not to get in too much trouble. Enjoy the drinks.”
While Minnie’s sus softened a little bit, her reaction did not.
“Booooy,” she began, barely restraining from really putting tone in it at the sheer arrogance. At least when her Kitty got that bad, she could spank him. “The Galaxy’s kinda a big place. Hard to be famous in it unless you like, blow up a planet. Do you recognize him?” She jerked a thumb at Bril.
Tisto put his left hand to his chest, shocking himself a bit with his glove for a very dramatic attempt at feigning wounded pride. “You hurt me. I said I hoped. Used to be the reigning shock boxing champ for the cruiser weight division here on Solyiat. I was hoping you interesting looking folks were locals and fans anxiously waiting my return.”
Also wondering what the two of you are doing but hey, this is too fun to pass up being a bit dramatic for.
The man’s aloof, almost flippant tone irked him. Was this what other people felt when he was being particularly haughty?
“No. I don’t recognize him, though all of my matches were held at the Belkada on Canto Bight. Different stomping grounds, so to speak,” he replied to Minnow, “Haven’t had much time to keep up with fighters since joining the Brotherhood.”
Bril shifted his attention to Tisto next. Him fighting at Cruiserweight meant that he belonged to the same weight class that he once did. But he was older now, with more muscle on his frame. He could never make that weight these days.
“We came straight here after assisting Proconsul Armis on a mission, hence the armor.”
<@224587844432166912>
The inquisitors eyes shifted over to the pair again. He sighed. “Boo. You are no fun at all. Guess the jig is up. You helped the second boss you get free drinks.”
Might be a better lie.
“The old man let me back into the clan. Least I could do is make sure his friends had a nice night out.” The boxer’s attention turned back to the shockboxing. “It’s looking like I will have another forgettable match.”
I wonder if they will buy this one?
The man’s attempt at deception scratched at the back of his mind like a thornbush, prompting him to exchange another round of suspicious looks with his beloved before turning back to the kiffar with narrowed eyes.
He was tired. He’d been tired, and, coming off of the calamity that befell their home and the subsequent relief initiatives meant to ease the suffering of the myriad lives that had been affected by the machinations of Alla'su and her ilk, he had little patience for games. He didn’t move a muscle, yet the device used to watch the shockboxing match smacked face first into the table below.
“We’ve given you the opportunity to be truthful. I suggest you take it or keep your patronage to yourself.”
<@244244163002892288>
Tisto looked at the holoscreen and frowned. “You know that was the bars not mine right? Suppose that’s on my tab as well. You aren’t making this a cheap night.”
The boxer shrugged. “I suppose you can’t help being a bit boring. You know in cheap holovids people just accept drinks. Like I said I found you interesting. The whole clandestine thing the two of you are doing is neat. Used to run with a crew or two that did similar things.”
Tisto smiled lazily again. “I figure I cover your tabs and buy you drinks so you know someone is paying attention. I either got your back should people pick trouble with ya, or will toss ya if you make trouble.”
Tisto picked up the holoscreen and set it back up to watch the match that he was thoroughly bored with. These two are way more interesting. But in for a credit…
“You are right though. Mr. Follow the rules didnt let me back into the clan. My boy did. From back when I was a big shot. The kid has done well for himself. And outranks the uptight Mando.”
Tisto slid further back in his seat, stopping himself from falling out of it. “Oh and please don’t bring that god stuff here. I only have so many pick up lines I can throw at them. And that mind trick god thing was the one I used my best on.”
Yuki sat in her booth, sipping her drinks and idly chatting with her brother. It had been some time since they were able to just relax even slightly. Ryuu, the woman noted, was as stiff-necked and acerbic as always. She wished he would loosen up just a little. Let his hair down and party as it were. Her mind wandered as they talked, remember all the gifts she sent that probably have been collecting dust for ages.
She focused on the group at the bar, storm gray eyes taking in the two in armour and the Kiffar who seemed to be in the middle of a heated discussion. Taking a sip from the new drink delivered by a waitress, Yuki gestured with the end of a cigarra before she crushed it out on the table.
“That might be interesting,” she murmured to her brother in Nagaian. “A good brawl might liven this place up a bit.”
She grinned at Ryuu and tossed a few credit chips on the table. “My money is on the Zabrak.”
Ryuu snorted and shook his head. “You know I will never bet with you. Besides, I have no use for your blood money.”
Yuki laughed softly and shook her head. “Fine, fine. Do whatever you like, brother. Take the credits anyway. They’ll cover your tab.”
Blood money, the thought with a slight smile. It’s all blood money in the end.
She pulled out another cigarra and lit it, taking a deep pull from it. The Nagai woman watched the fight brewing across the bar and mentally check that she had something other than a metal hand to defend herself if the need arose.
A quick glance at the bartender told her he was also ready for such an event, though more probably thinking about bolting more than fighting. The woman made small adjustments to her clothes, a smile on her lips as she just lounged like an indolent noblewoman with nothing better to do.
There was quite a bit going on suddenly. Minnie gaped when the holo was yanked from its perch, smacking Bril’s arm with a furious little bit of Mando'a, hissing, “What are, you doing that’s someone’s stuff!”
But as the man kept talking, the hole dug deeper.
“Your boy? Big shot? You know alor Armis?” Her seafoam gaze was brittle, and she stood up straight in front of her Zabrak, stance squaring like she might chamber a kick between the legs. The pieces were coming together. “You’re an Odanite jediit, aren’t you? You were on Selen?”
Tisto nodded. “Yup. Spent time with Diy. Told one of the gods that ladies also call me ‘oh god’. Terrible times. Would rather not be told you all found more of them. Hated both. As for Armis of course I know him. Damn man had medics put me in some sort of medical gown that was not mine.”
Tisto narrows his eyes remembering that meeting. “Showed him though. Would rather be embarrassed that have people do that. And then my boy let me back into the clan. Told me to keep my eye out for weird or interesting people. And then I rushed off to help Diy out. She owes me a new bike.”
So the Arconan Proconsul, the Odanite Proconsul, and someone higher than him, meaning either the Odanite Consul or a Councillor, who he clung to calling “his boy” like some reminder of taking credit. Alright.
The rest of the details were irrelevant, as Foxxie would say. Just baiting gross jokes and baiting stories.
“So you see anybody in armor in a bar somewhere in Solyiat and you think cool poke ‘em with a stick for your superior? Okie, sure. Well we’re not for sale and already liaison with the Clan. Try the looky-loos over there.” She nodded over at the whispering folks watching them, then glanced to Bril. “Got anything you wanna add?”
<@1056685516441006091>
“Just one thing,” Bril spoke while looking at Tisto, “My appreciation for you offering your aid to the people of Selen only gets you so far. Don’t give me a reason to start looking at you differently, okay?”
Two drinks, the ones he and Minnow ordered, drifted across the room after he finished speaking. Bril took his own in hand and left Minnie’s to hover between them in case she wanted to take it. Bril turned to leave while taking a sip of his purple-colored spirit. “And thanks for the drink.”
<@224587844432166912>
“Offering? I’ll have you know my old bike got destroyed.” Tisto’s eyes seemed focused on the match. “But I am bored. Neither of these two look like a good match. Enjoy the drinks.”
“Well dear sister, looks like they didn’t come to blows,” Ryuu stated as he glanced back over at the Arconans before taking a sip of his whiskey. Turning his attention back to his sister fully, “So where are you heading after this? Back to the island to care for this new stray or do you have plans elsewhere now that we’re not actively helping in this war against so called gods?”
He ignored the money on the table, for all he cared the staff of this bar could have it all his sister had more than enough to share.
“So buy a new one,” he waved his hand dismissively before turning his attention to the Nagai duo standing on the other end of the cantina.
Minnie took the drink, but only to set it on the bar. She gave the man a last look as Bril turned away.
“And what’s your name, bored guy?”
The Inquisitor looked away from the fight, studying the short one in Mandalorian armor. “Tisto. Pleasure to meet you…”
“Minnow, Clan Erinos,” she recited crisply, proud but cool. “Tisto. I’ll be keeping an eye out. Ret'urcye mhi. Maybe we’ll meet again. Maybe check your attitude if we do.”
She turned then, bopping a step to join her Zabrak.
“Alright?” she checked.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. That was just … weird. This is just our second time in COU territory, but I expected Jedi to be more, well, Jedi-like.”
Minnie’s brows crinkled, and she put a hand on his back. “I’m sorrie, baby. I dunno. I don’t really have the same…expectations…of jediit. But, like, maybe this is what they’re really like? Yanno, people instead of the legends and history holos. I know your Master Cora sets a really high bar for it but maybe he’s the exception, not the rule.”
Yuki watched the exchange fizzle away from a fight and sighed with a shrug. “Only Xin can see the future. I just make wagers on it.”
She looked at her brother with a shrug. “I’m not sure yet. Our new friends over there could still be a bit more exciting, I think. If not, probably back to the island. The systems need some supervision, but are automated enough to handle most any problem.”
Yuki took another sip from her glass and set it back down, gray eyes moving around the bar again.
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He made no effort to hide his disappointment in that possibility despite accepting it with a begrudging nod. “Reality is often disappointing, yes.”
Yuki finished her drink and set the empty glass down on the table. A final drag on the dying cigarra and she stood with a sigh. “I suppose I should find out why that idiot keeps trying to pick fights with strangers and also pretend like I do my job.”
The mercenary slid from the booth and made minute adjustments to her clothes with a bit of a grimace. It felt wonderful but it wrinkled so easily. A glance at her brother showed the man concealing a knowing smile behind a hand.
Yuki tossed her head to the side with a look of disgust. She knew her brother well enough to know what he thought. The Nagaian woman slowly stepped over to the group, her fingers lightly tracing over the hilt of her beskad, a gesture more like a comfort tic than an act of overt aggression.
While Minnie rubbed up and down her Zabrak’s back a little more firmly so that he’d be able to feel it through his armor, she noted the “looky-loos” heading their way, though maybe more towards Tisto? It was hard to say. She shuffled them to the side as if to be passed, even though there was tons of other space in the bar they could be walking in, when her gaze landed on a weapon that would’ve been impossible not to recognize.
Seafoam eyes snapped to the woman.
“Tion'Manda? Tion gar gai aliit?” Are you Mandalorian? Who are you, what’s your Clan’s name?
Bril took a sip of his drink, content to listen while his beloved spoke with the nagaian woman.
Gray eyes flicked at the Zabrak and then back to the Nautolan. With a grin, she gently trapped herself on the forehead. “My manners are slipping however. I am Yuki Suoh, Knight-Commander. And yourselves?”
Though unfamiliar with the title and what exactly it relates to in this situation, Minnow relaxed marginally from what would have otherwise been visibly a tense posture when the Nagai confirmed she had once been a Foundling and understood the language, at least. The way she’d looked at the beskar and its bearer suggested it might have been a fight otherwise.
“Minnow, of Clan Erinos,” the Nautolan answered, crossing her bracers to tap them. “Though I would never call the Resol'nare misspent.”
“Bril Teg Arga,” he stated. Feeling her relax helped him ease some of the tension he felt enough for him to lower his head in a slight bow, just enough to show the crown of his head and the horns that poke out from between brown locs.
The woman nodded to each in turn for the introductions. “A pleasure, both of you.”
She turned her attention back to Minnow with a rueful smile. “At the time, it was not. As I got older, I wanted…” the Nagai shrugged. “More, I suppose. So I moved here to the far end of no where and raised a family of my own. Trained properly, of course. But, in our own way now.”
“Hmm,” Minnie hummed, in a way that to his ears had a distinct hrm undertone to it. It was as neutral as she could stay while acknowledging what Yuki had said. “Different maybe, instead of ‘more.’ Less dismissive of someone’s culture,” she advised. “I hope you found your place and happiness.”
He cracked a grin at the contemplative noise she made, then nodded. “It’s something we all strive to find, one way or another.”
Yuki thought for a moment and nodded with a smile. “Different, yes. In many ways, I’ve kept the traditions of my youth. In others,” she made a gesture at her attire. “Not so much. It isn’t better, just better for me, I think. I have made a family and have been happy.”
Ryuu walked up to the trio with a smile on his face, as for once his sister beating the Mandalorian language into him is coming in handy. The Nagai slightly bowed in greeting to the two strangers and in basic said, “Hello there, since my sister has introduced herself it would be extremely impolite for me not to. I am Ryuu Suoh.”
“Hello, Mister Souh, Miss Souh. Minnow, of Clan Erinos,” movie repeated, and then touching Bril’s arm, followed suit with his earlier, “Bril Teg Agra. Are you also a former Mandalorian?”
“Me? No no. She decided one day that I was going to learn and beat it into me.” He said with a smile while glancing at his sister to see what her reaction would be.
Yuki looked at her brother from the corner of her eye, a flat and unfriendly look. “And who would have thought you had such a hard head to boot?”
Moving a hand to rest upon the small of Minnie’s back, he smiled while listening to them all converse. “So, you two are members of Odan-Urr, then? Or just residents of the system?”
Yuki’s gaze turned back to the Zabrak, her expression warming back up and becoming softer. “We are, yes. I am the Knight-Commander of Allusis. My brother here is in charge of the rest of the military.”
She gestures to the bartender with a smile, “Drink refills all around on the Kiffar’s tab.”
Jovian confidently navigated his way through the ever-growing throng of people that had gathered around the individual buying drinks. Despite a woman having just called out, Jovian, known for his outgoing nature, decided to approach her. She seemed like any other patron in the bar. “Are you the one that I should be thanking?” His smile was warm and inviting, a rare sight in such a bustling environment. Taking the seat next to her, he couldn’t help but notice the two individuals who had been discreetly observing him earlier. Perhaps this was when he would finally initiate a conversation with the enigmatic pair.
“Sounds important,” noted Bril, “What is Allusis?”
Both Bril and Minnie made note of the new arrival, the same man dressed in Nightsister armor they’d briefly discussed earlier. Minnie greeted him with a polite smile, but Bril simply turned his head back to Yuki and Ryuu.
“I’m the Starosta of the Dajorran Marshals, a kind of rapid-response team meant to aid in various roles throughout our system,” he added before looking to Minnie to see if she had anything to add. He could have shared her role himself, but it was her history to tell.
She paused for a moment, clearly thinking over her response. “I just make sure this one stays safe,” she noted, though the knowing look Bril gave her was enough to suggest that there was more than what she was sharing.
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The Nagaian woman turned her gaze towards the Twi'lek and a small grin crossed her face. A slashing look took the scarlet-skinned man in from head to toe. “Well, well, well,” she muttered half to herself.
Yuki thought for a moment and nodded before turning back to Bril with a smile. “The Knights of Allusis are much the same in terms of rapid response. We are the tip of the spear when it comes time for unpleasantness to be exchanged.”
She gestured over at Tisto with a grin. “He’s one of mine sometimes. He’s rough and always ready for a tussle with just about anyone.”
Ryuu let out a heavy sigh as the twilek walked over, not because of the man himself but because of his sister’s reaction. Before taking another sip he said, “I do need to clarify that I’m not in charge of the rest of the military, Wulfram just gave me a high rank for some reason, just because I’m good with a sword doesn’t mean I can lead.”
Jovian walked and sat next to the woman who seemed nearly central to the conversation; something about her was a mix of fear and overall interest. There was a look about her that reminded Jovian of the times that he allowed himself to be swallowed by his own darker thoughts ” Is this truly what you want to be doing right now?” He rested his chin on his hand with a wistful expression, reminiscent of a child eagerly anticipating a response from an elder *” You don’t seem the type… “*As he lifted the glass to his lips, the condensation from the drink moistened his fingertips. With a deliberate motion, he took a small, refreshing sip, savouring the cool, crisp taste on his tongue. His eyes met hers as he lowered the glass, a flicker of contemplation in his gaze. <@227653769842655233>
Yuki raised an eyebrow at Jovian, a corner of her mouth twitching upwards. “I’m sure we’ll dance a little later, pretty boy. Enjoy the drinks for now, hm?”
Tapping a finger to her lips, she turned to regard Bril and Minnow again, gray eyes taking them both in anew for a moment as the Zabrak’s words finished filtering through her mind. “Dajorran Marshals, hm? And what brings you to our neck of the woods?”
Jovian likes Yuki already because he sees something in her that he has within himself. She was powerful and intelligent; powerful women fascinated him. From what he knew from his past, women were the only ones you could trust; at least, they would tell you before they stabbed you in the face. Jovian turned in the direction Yuki was speaking to the couple previously in the corner of the bar. He was interested in what they had to say; they were in the bar just a hair sooner than Jovian. He scanned the couple and looked down at his attire ‘This is going to be interesting,’ Jovian thought. He was not deaf to the fact that he sat in Nightsister armour, and a Zebrak was standing right before him. He took a deeper beverage drink and flagged the bartender for another.
“Minnow and I ran into Lillian Douve-Armis not that long ago at Station 0H40-S0, also known as the Shame Corner. Them hitting it off and my inheriting my job from Wulfram both seemed like good reasons to pay them a visit,” he explained.
Minnie chimed in next. “Ended up helping them out on a mission after chatting for a bit. It was nice.”
The subtle feeling of eyes on him prompted Bril to look at the man dressed in Nightsister armor. Now seemed like as good a time as ever to question ask him about that.
“Do you belong to one of the Nightsister clans?” asked Bril, though not in Basic. He asked Zabraki. That was the first test.
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Jovian leaned back, listening to what came from the Zabrak, and this was something that was completely over his head. It sounded like Zabraki, but Jovian didn’t understand what the man was saying. There was a single word that he knew, and Jovian decided to respond in kind. He leaned back on the booth and looked at the man again ((Ancient Sith)) “I was sold to a merchant as a child who loved the legacy of the Nightsisters… “ Jovian reached for his drink and took a drink, looking at the man ((Basic)). “He liked it when I demeaned him when I wore it… he said it was nostalgia.” Jovian cocked his eyebrow and looked the man over once again ((Ancient Sith)) “I stabbed him to death while I was wearing it too”
Yuki watched the exchange, sipping her drink slowly. Pulling out another cigarra, she lit the end and took a deep pull on it, the end turning white hot.
She exhaled through her nose with a raised eyebrow for both the Zabrak and the Twi’lek. “I’m off-duty, so if you’re going to fight, take it outside so I can continue being off-duty.”
She had no idea what the two of them were saying to each other except for the snippet about demeaning someone, but this bar wasn’t exactly known for its peaceable atmosphere.
Tisto looked away from the match as the bartender approached.
“Yuki suggested you were paying for a round?” He inquired.
The bored Kiffar sighed. “Why not. Yuki gets water in this one.”
The Kiffar looked back at the screen and shook his head. The bigger of the two fighters had clearly cut some water weight to get into the match. Unfortunately it seemed he was going to win. The boxer looked over at the gathering group. There seemed to be some level of tension at the table. Oh look, a fight waiting to break out. I should do my job.
The Kiffar walked over to the gathering, a smile on his face. When he arrived he leaned forward in the table. “I’m bored. Who wants to fight outside.”
Ryuu let out a deep sigh when the Kiffar came over and asked for a fight as you could see his demeanor change and become more serious. He set his drink down on the bar and left his left forearm rest on the hilt of his Force-Imbued sword before addressing Tisto. “You’re not helping. No one here needs to fight right here, right now. Go request an official dual when you haven’t been drinking if you really want to. Just not when we’re not around so I don’t have to explain anything to Wulfram.”
Tisto smiled at the stranger. “Me? Drink? We have two honored guests from our sister clan. I’ve just been paying for everyone else’s drinks.”
The boxer brushed the rest aside. “So yeah if anyone is feeling tense and wants to get that out of their system, I’m offering to spar outside so the bar doesn’t get damaged. I like this bar. And I’m bored so you could use whatever weapons you want.”
Bril only caught a third of that. “So, you’re not one of the people?” he asked, more pointedly this time.
Minnie rolled her eyes at the lot of them. “Do y'all, like, just brawl a lot or what, that that’s your opening line and first assumption?” She looked pointedly at Yuki, then Ryuu, and Tisto again. Her touch on Bril’s arm at his more pointed question was grounding, easily seeing troubled waters. And whatever this was about demeaning…? “How about, if we’re bored, some games? After Bril and…we didn’t catch your name?”
Jovian’s pupils widened, and he stared at Bril “ Jovian “ he replied to the head-tailed beauty “, So you DO speak…” Jovian reached into a small pouch on his hip and lit a cigara, setting the small lighter on the counter. “…You know? Nevermind. No, I am not affiliated clan.” Though Jovian attempted to sit in a relaxed position but his body was tense.
“Not affiliated with Odan-Urr,” Minnie pressed, clarifying, a gesture at Yuki, Ryou, and Tisto encompassing them, “or not affiliated with any Nightsister group?”
“Oh!” His ear perked, and he couldn’t help but ponder the unusual vibration he had felt on his way there. “Forgive my attitude and tone then; I was lost for a time.” Reflecting on the peculiar way he had arrived at the bar, he couldn’t shake off the echoes of something mysterious. Despite being somewhat in tune with the Force, Jovian had never experienced anything quite like it before. “A vibration brought me here,” he murmured, still trying to make sense of the inexplicable pull that had led him to this place.
Yuki watched the Twi'lek with an eyebrow raised, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. The more he spoke, the funnier it seemed to become to the Nagaian woman. She leaned back against the bar and started to laugh, a soft, rich, musical sound or absolute joy.
“Gods above, he’s one of mine.”
She wiped a couple of fingers under her eyes to get rid of the small tears that had come up from her laughter and continued to, for lack of a better word, giggle as she set her glass on the counter and crushed out her cigarra. Yuki looked at Bril and shrugged. “If he likes it, he likes it. What does it really matter?”
Yuki continued to find everything around her suddenly very humorous, the smile spreading across her face until the muscles started to ache a little. “You see, brother dear. This is why I go out and about among the people. It’s always so amusing.”
“It matters because those garments are cherished cultural artifacts, not something you wear because you thought it looked cute,” he retorted with a reserved, yet nonetheless biting tone.
Yuki ignored the tone and continued to giggle softly. “We all pick what to wear for two reason, functionality or because it’s cute. Besides, perhaps it’s just a replica. Someone saw a Nightsister once and made something to match.”
She shrugged and picked up her glass again, gesturing to the outfit with it. “I could make something similar in a matter of hours. Or pay to have someone do it. Therefore, it wouldn’t exactly be an artifact, hm? I would be an expert replication of something I appreciated.”
“It would be a farce, you mean,” he continued, “a shallow imitation of something with far more depth and meaning than any ‘replica’ could hope to capture.”
Yuki shrugged and waved a hand in a dismissive wave. “Don’t look at him then.” Her eyes flicked up and down the Twi'lek again. “I don’t mind the view, but I might be the only one.”
Picking her glass back up, she finished it and set the glass back down before tapping the counter again after getting the bartender’s attention. Yuki pulled another cigarra from the pack and lit it from a nearby tinder box. “I don’t see a reason to get bent out of shape because of fashion choices.”
“It isn’t about fashion; I could go on about fashion, girl, trust me,” Minnie broke in, crossing her beskar-clad arms. “It’s about stealing a culture, disrespecting it, and parading the bones of your dead around in front of you with no right to it; just like any outsider wearing our iron out of convenience or as a trophy.”
“ You have no idea what I have been through and what this very armour has protected me from. ” Jovian was annoyed by the double teaming and the kind but vain defence “ You can say what you want, and you are allowed to, but I’m fuckin bored. ” Jovian took another drink and looked around the room; this was definitely not the cool couple in the corner. “Find someone else to chew on.”
Their blatant disregard for such a sensitive subject irked Bril to no end. The Nagai’s flippancy was bad enough, but the imposter dressed in his people’s attire uttered a response that shattered the veneer of begrudging professionalism that Bril had maintained. He stepped forward, right into Jovian’s bubble, and locked eyes with him.
“I don’t care what it’s protected you from. You have no right to wear it,” he responded, “I was being polite by giving you the opportunity to explain yourself first. The only reason I haven’t folded you and your friend here is out of respect for your Consul and Proconsul.”
He briefly looked to Yuki to ensure that she knew that he was the ‘friend’ to which he referred, then looked back to Jovian.
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Minnie grit her teeth, shifting on her feet in preparation to shield or join Bril in the fray should one erupt, but hoping to keep things at least civil.
“Look, how about we try some solutions. You have an expert on the culture right here. Take this evening to learn something about the armor you’re wearing. Learn to respect it. And if you can’t do that, then how about if we bought you some new armor? Equally if not more protective. And plenty ‘fashionable.’” <@516501217728397331>
“You come into our territory and disgrace yourself. Demand respect but offer none. And as for your iron. Wulfram has beaten someone to death with their own helmet for trying to impose that cult narrative before.” Ryuu dropped all polite manners at this point. “You have worn your welcome. You can leave now peacefully on your own terms, or you can be escorted forcefully by our military and barred from Odan-Urr space.”
“Cult narrative?” Minnow snapped sharply, eyes narrowing on the other man. “My Clan is no cult simply for exorcising our beliefs. And your justification is that Wulfram murdered someone for having those beliefs? That’s horrific.”
“Good luck with that, buddy,” he replied.
The Nautolan shook her head, seemingly locking multiple levels of anger and revulsion down.
“No need to scramble yourselves. We’ll leave right now. I need to speak to the rest of the Erinos, and reach out to the other Armis. If Wulfram would beat to death another Mandalorian solely for disagreeing about the honor of our ancestors and our iron, then we must reconsider our Clans’ alliance. Arcona may hold with Odan-Urr, but the Erinos will not share bread with a family that supports such brutality.”
Tisto blinked at the exchange and waved a hand towards the bartender. “I would like a spicebrew please. Turns out I need a drink tonight.”
The Kiffar looked over to Yuki, and offered up a shrug and a smile. “Damn. I helped kill a god for nothing then. I don’t suppose things are going to be calm after that outburst from our…”
Tisto gestures to Ryuu. “That one is on the council too right? Some military command or another?”
Yuki set her glass down with a barely audible thunk as she stood up and erected herself to her full height. She looked from Minnow, to Bril, to her clanmates. “My brother may have spoken slightly out of turn, but he has spoken as is his right as Lieutenant General of the OUSC. You have threatened two members of this clan now.”
She gestured to Jovian and then back at herself. “You have said you are only sparing us out of respect to our Consul and Proconsul. Whether you feel his attire is offensive or not is irrelevant. You are in our home, you are expected to behave as guests. You have spoken a few times of our Warmaster, indicating that you had more than a passing acquaintance.”
A quick gesture at Minnow. “And yet, this one has the audacity to speak ill of one simply because he isn’t a cultist. So tell me why we shouldn’t make you bleed for the pleasure? You say good luck with making you leave?”
Yuki keyed her comlink twice, her gray eyes flat and unfriendly. The hard coded signal was to alert the more mundane units attached to the Knights of Allusis that trouble was brewing. “Keep up this behavior and I’m pretty sure even the Clans won’t be on good terms either.”
She pushed away from the counter and gestured swiftly at both the Zabrak and the Nautolan. “That being said, you can either cut the shit and behave or pack your things. IF you choose neither then we will have you removed by force. Have I been clear as crystal?”
With a snap of her fingers, she placed a hand on her hip near one of the hilts. “I am the Knight-Commander here. You are just interlopers on holiday. Ryuu, Tisto. Be ready to escort our guests back to their ship. Take a battalion of the guardsmen to assist you if necessary.”
Tisto frowned but nodded, standing up and adjusting his gloves. “I don’t know if I would call someone’s culture cultish. I get where they are coming from. I’m not a personal fan of posers myself.”
Tisto stretched his arms up, interlocking his fingers as he looked over to Minnow. “At the same time, you are guests in a star system we worked really hard to remove from most maps. I think you said it best about how to go about these sorts of things? What did you say? Check your attitude?”
The boxer lowered his arms. “I don’t think you are being unreasonable. But this ain’t your home, and the bosses unfortunately make the rules. Please don’t make a fight happen this way. It’s less fun for all of us.”
“I can’t believe you’re making the most sense,” Minnow said in exasperation, feeling more and more disgusted by the minute every time they slurred her people as cultists. And more and more alarmed. Who were the Odanties, that they took such sheer offense to protesting cultural appropriation and murder? That a minute ago, one had been trying to get tussels outside going, but breathing a word against their ‘Commanders’ was worth this severity? She feared for the people of this system.
Bril would be even more let down than they’d thought, that this was their Jedi.
Her stance and voice clicked into a veteran’s coldness.
“As I said, we’ll be going. Find more agreeable company amongst yourselves. Bril, ship. Now.”
Bril’s eyes narrowed at the woman’s threat toward his beloved. Then, he smiled. She had no idea how fortunate she was that it was Bril who was present to hear talk of making Minnow bleed. Fortunate that he was the man he was.
He gave a nod to Tisto for his comments before turning to leave.