Session export: [CSP Monthly RP Series] - Drinking (Games?)
-
Dag Duh Dug
by
Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz
- Lieutenant Colonel Kole Newberry by Battlelord Sykes Jade Palpatine
- Warrior Morvyn by Warrior Morvyn
-
Combat Master Vincent Brujah
by
Combat Master Vincent Brujah
-
Mandalorian Jaz Holden
by
Combat Master Vincent Brujah
-
Vice-Chancellor Maeva
by
Duchess Jenni
-
Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz
by
Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz
Vincent felt like maybe he had gone a little hard on the team after what he had initially considered a failure of their recent training mission. Well, Jaz told him that he had gone a little hard anyway. He had tortured the pilots with strenuous training drills until he felt like they were closer to being prepared for the upcoming war, and to prevent him from any further embarrassment from the Lap’lamiz family. The drills had lasted days. Breaks were few. But they had grown as a team and their skill was looking better every day.
In order to show his appreciation, the Hand of the Empress had rented out a local bar for them to have a night out at and just relax with a few drinks. Maybe some war stories? Maybe music and dancing? Maybe the loss of limbs or life? Who could say?
The establishment that he had rented for the night was owned and operated by Dag Duh Dug. He was somehow related to Kamjin, but his price for an open bar was unbeatable. The Salty Dug was the name of the place, and as Vincent entered it he saw the glow of neon lights. A fairly standard cantina setup with tables and chairs, a bar with stools, room for dancing or mingling away from the tables, and at the far wall on a slightly elevated stage some Acid Fizz players.
Vincent walked in and took a seat at the bar, giving the place a look over. People would soon start filing in. He wondered who would show up tonight and what drama they would bring with them. If he was sure of one thing, it was that the night would be entertaining.
Dag Duh Dug saw Vincent enter. He knew that look. That was the look of someone who had had to deal with Lap’lamiz. Dag wore that face so often it stuck.
The Dug touched the controls of his mobile bar stool to slide over to the Empress’s Hand.
“||First one is on the house with the package you purchased. We’ve kept the number of locals down to the VIP usuals. You’ve got the run of the place plus we’ve got food coming for the private room.||” Dag gestured to a frosted glass door near the bar. “||So, what’ll be?||”
Morvyn stepped through the entrance of the cantina and headed toward the bar. He had been at this particular bar more times than he could count with his master. Some might even view The Salty Dog as the origin of his previous drinking problem. His attention settled on Dag and Vincent already in conversation at the counter. He moved up beside Vincent without much hesitation, resting a hand lightly against the edge of the bar.
“My lord. Dag.”
He gave each of them a respectful nod before scanning around the room.
“Am I the first one here?”
His eyes drifted toward the bottles lined behind Dag for a moment before he looked back toward Vincent instead of ordering anything himself.
“||No, clearly this guy was here first. Geez, did Kamjin knock you upside the head again?||” Dag offered Morvyn his usual drink.
“Clearly I wasn’t talking about the host and person renting your bar, Dag,” Morvyn retorted.
He accepted the drink and nodded to Dag. “||Thank you||”
“||Clearly…looks like you have a new hand. Who took the old one?||”
Morvyn paused mid sip and froze for a moment before setting the glass down. He lifted his mechanical right hand.
“This was a result of a poor interaction with the one and only Komilia Lap’lamiz.”
“||Little Millie? Ya, she can get like that. You shouldn’t have stuck your hand out.||” Dag laughed at his joke.
“Well I reacted poorly. She was drunk and dressed as a stormtrooper. I was ready to execute the trooper, but she was faster.” Morvyn let out a long sigh. “Always having to learn lessons from the Lap’lamiz family tree.”
Dag blinked and doubled over laughing. “||Millie was dressed as a Stormtrooper? Oh that’s rich. That’s really rich. Hey, Hibbity, you gotta hear this one.||”
A gruff looking Mon Calamari walked over to Dag. As the excited Dug, between laughs, explained the story Hibbity’s face didn’t react. As Dag concluded, Hibbity stared at Morvyn. “You’re lucky that’s the worse she did. She’s just as likely to have killed you by accident.” Hibbity nodded towards Dag and walked back over to the tiny Jawa with a bow on her hood that he had been talking too.
“||Well I thought it was funny!||”
“I would have told you sooner, but open bars and I have not gotten along very much recently. I have a few stories to tell you. I might not have come to this if it hadn’t been your bar, Dag.”
Morvyn took a long scan of the bar. “I’ve missed coming here.”
Dag gave Morvyn a long look over. The man had clearly been through the ringer. “||I warned you when you first became Kamjin’s apprentice to be careful. You should have listened to me. You know how many times that man has blown off paying for a job?||”
A beautiful purple skinned Twi'lek with a lone Lekku came out from behind the bar with a case of ale bottles to restock the fridge. “Ya, well sug'ah when Kamjin actually pays we can usually party for a month without issue. You best be careful how often you put down the man who’s taken care of you for all these years.”
“||What do you know, Lyn. You weren’t here for the worse of it.||”
Lyn, the purple skinned Twi'lek, just shrugged and took the empty crate back behind the bar.
“||She isn’t wrong Dag, but I also know what you are saying.||”
He raised his voice loud enough to be heard be heard behind the bar. “Don’t forget to come have a drink with me before I leave, Lyn!”
“Sugah, wait till I’m off my shift.”
Slyth, the hulking Trandoshan peeked out from behind the bar to see who was speaking. Recognizing Morvyn he gave a curt nod and went back to work.
Vincent followed the conversation easily, but his attention was split. He kept turning to look at the door, as if expecting someone, or at least watching very carefully for anyone unwanted to enter. He didn’t even want to think about Komilla, or her brother Kai for that matter. They had caused the Warlord and now Combat Master enough trouble recently.
After a moment, the doors opened and Vincent’s IG series assassin droid, Frank, entered the bar. He sported a shiny new leg that was visibly fresher than the rest of his body. That had cost enough, but at least he didn’t have to pony up for another personality chip or brain. Those were expensive.
Frank walked over and bowed to his Master and then stood silently behind him. Vincent didn’t even need to say the words. He knew to shut up. He was there merely for protection if things got too dicey.
After Frank found his place, Vincent turned back to Dag. He spoke in fluent Hutteese.
||”I’ll have a Corellian whiskey, thank you.”|| he said.
“Mast-Combat Master Brujah!” Frank exclaimed. “I didn’t know you could speak Hutteese.”
Vincent turned to Frank.
“I grew up in the Pits of Tatooine, it was pretty much a prerequisite to living.”
Vincent turned to Morvyn.
“Good to see you, Morvyn. I often manage to forget that you were Kamjin’s apprentice. It seems that more often than not recently, I find myself surrounded by people associated with the man in one way or another.”
His eyes rolled slightly as he sighed.
“How are your preparations for the upcoming progressing?”
Morvyn took another drink before setting the glass back down against the counter. He spun the glass is the small puddle of condensation.
“I’ve been assisting with pilot training for the last few weeks,” he said. “Mostly newer transfers and replacement personnel. You know, the works. From flight discipline to combat drills. The biggest hurdle for the trainees has been formation work.” His mechanical fingers rested against the side of the glass for a moment.
“Apparently someone decided I was qualified to teach people how not to die.” He chuckled under his breath. “It’s kept me busy. Probably kept me out of trouble too.”
Dag moved around the bar keeping busy while keeping an ear open towards the conversation developing.
Vincent nodded at Morvyn as he spoke of the pilot training.
“Excellent. From the reports I have been receiving, you and your peers have done well. Your assistance is appreciated. After our war games last month, it became abundantly clear that deep, structural training was necessary if we hope to have a pleasant outcome.”
The Hand of the Empress eyed Dag as he moved around, but didn’t bring the whiskey.
”What the kark?” he thought. He spoke towards the Dug, this time in basic.
“Oh, and I’ll have a strong, bitter ale with that whiskey. When you have a moment, of course.”
With a raise of his eyebrow he turned back to Morvyn.
“Not dying is an important part of piloting, or so I hear. I let the droids take care of that for me. Regardless, staying out of trouble and assisting to build our military might are notable achievements. I will keep this in mind when reviews come around.”
<@679032520699805708>
“||I’m sorry, I thought I’d wait till you stopped running your mouth before you got your drink. Seriously my mother used to say ‘Dag, you can drink your liqour or you can run your mouth but you can’t do both at the same time’.||” Dag produced the requested drinks.
“||Course, my mother was a bit touched in the head if you get my meaning.||” Dag tapped his forehead with his toes.
Morvyn turned back toward Vincent. “Are you drinking-drinking with us tonight or are you here to supervise?”
Vincent couldn’t help but smirk at Dag’s antics. He had taken things too seriously for some time, and tonight was a night to relax before all hell broke loose. He intended to take advantage of it. He turned back to Morvyn, picking up his glass of whiskey and slamming the whole thing down in one big gulp. A smile crossed his face.
“Oh, I don’t think we need supervision tonight. I intend to relax like the rest of us. Don’t worry, though. If things get too dicey, we have Frank here to take care of things. Isn’t that right, Frank?”
The droid spun his head back and forth between the two, almost nervously.
“Quite right, sir!” he said with a distinct lack of confidence.
Dag eyed the man and shrugged. This wouldn’t be the first night some drunken Sith wrecked the bar. That’s why he got insurance with Empire Mutual and their slogan was always right ‘The Dark Side: It’s Mutual’.
Dag, being cautious, did press the alert button so Slyth would know to be on the lookout from the back room.
Morvyn paused for a moment. The thought of cutting loose while drunk could spell disaster, but since the Hand of the Empress was joining in this could be fun. He gave a mischevious glance at Dag before turning his glass up to down the rest of his drink.
“Dag, would join us for a shot? Dealers choice on what the drink is.”
<@679032520699805708>
Dag shrugged. You gotta keep the customers happy and the more they drink the more they spend. “||Sure, you’re buying.||”
Dag pulled off some of the finest top shelf liquor in the place and poured a shot for Morvyn. While pouring he masterfully concealed that he filled his shot glass with water.
“||Here’s putting hair on your horns.||” Dag raised his shot glass with his foot and downed it immediately.
“||Here’s to your continued prosperity.||” He threw back the shot with ease and mild facial reaction. Then he slid the last shot over to Vincent.
<@466040899970007041>
Brujah could already feel the whiskey coursing through his body, warming his insides. Almost as quickly as he had begun to relax, he tensed back up. He felt almost like his normal, angry, pessimistic self again almost instantly. He suspiciously eyed the Dug, but then Morvyn pushed a shot of an unknown variety in front of him.
”Well, it certainly can’t be any weaker than the whiskey” he thought, giving in to his negativity perhaps a bit more than usual.
He picked the shot glass up off of the bar and tossed back the liquid inside quickly. He maintained his composure. He didn’t grimace or wince at the burn of the liquid, though he still wasn’t quite sure what he had even been served.
”I bet it was poison” he found himself thinking.
His eyes narrowed, but he did his best to shake off this sudden negativity on what was supposed to be a fun night. He looked around the bar, and couldn’t help but notice the lack of women in the club. He turned to Morvyn.
“Bit of a sausage fest in here, isn’t it?”
With that, he picked up his ale and began nursing it.
“||Nah.||” Dag gestured at Tiny, the feminine Jawa.
Morvyn nodded his head in agreement then looked around the room. “It really is, but I think I prefer this company to others….. Especially Komilia.” He pause for a moment lost in thought while tapping his metal fingers on the bar. The Togruta took a moment before coming back to the present.
“Dag, got any canned beers or ales?” He turned in his seat to face his body toward Vincent. “Could I interest you in a one on one ‘Beer Duel’?”
<@679032520699805708> <@466040899970007041>
Vincent slowly raised an eyebrow at the Togruta, doing his best to ignore the mention of Komilla.
“A beer duel?” he asked.
Frank leaned in over Brujah’s shoulder.
“Oh, yes sir! I’ve heard of these! You each start with a canned beverage in your pocket, and you stand a few meters apart. On a countdown you draw your beverage, drink it as fast as you can, and then toss the empty can at the other person. Whoever gets hit with a can first loses. It’s such a delightful gam-”
“Shut up, Frank…” Vincent said, cutting the droid off.
His eyes narrowed again as he looked at Morvyn.
“You’re on.”
“||Oh…geez…cans of beer. That’s really gonna - of course I have cans of beer. Seriously, is it something about Lap'lamiz that just warps your brains or is it that Force mumbo-jumbo?||”
Dag moves his sliding chair over to another fridge and pulls out a few cans of Caperion Artois.
“||By the way…you keep talking about Kamjin’s daughter and he’s gonna start thinking you have a thing for her. That didn’t go over so well for the last guy.||” Dag looks at Morvyn’s cybernetic arm. “||Maybe you’re already there…I don’t know. You do you.||”
“||And before you ask, I’m not serving you any of the Palpatine Lager. I don’t care what the ads say, that stuff is weak sauce and has a horrible after taste. You’ve heard what they say…‘somehow Palp’s Lager came back’ right before they blow chunks.||”
The Togruta stepped back a few paces from Vincent as soon as Dag handed over the cans. He waited a moment for his opponent to take his spot. “Frank, please count us down from 5.”
The droid counted down as instructed. Morvyn cracked it open and started drinking. A few fast gulps and the can was empty. Morvyn lowered it and immediately threw it with his right hand.
The can bounced off Vincent’s left shoulder just as he finished his own can.
Morvyn stared at him for a second and then cocked his head to the side.
“You hesitated.” He stated in a puzzled tone. “Why?”
Vincent sneered a bit, not as much as he would in a scenario like a bridge officer not following simple instructions, but enough to be noticeable. He looked down at the can on the floor and then at the empty can in his hand. He then looked back up to Morvyn.
“I keep hearing the word ‘Komilla’. I’m still incredibly frustrated over the lack of repercussions that she faces for her antics. I suppose I let my anger get the better of me for a moment.”
He put the empty can back on the bar and turned to Frank.
“And you… you counted too quickly… don’t you know how to keep time properly?”
“My sincerest apologies, Combat Master Brujah!” the droid answered. “I will calibrate my internal clock right away, sir!”
Just then the acid fizz players on the stage changed tunes to something more upbeat. Vincent rolled his eyes.
“These may be the worst musicians I’ve ever heard.”
“||Next time buy the entertain package ya cheap Sith…||” Dag mumbled to himself.
More loudly he redirected the conversation. “||Dank, man…you got a thing for the man’s daughter too? Seriously, she’s not that impressive…||”
“You know Dag, as much as you acuse others of being into Komilia….,” Morvyn paused. “One might think YOU are the one that has a thing for her. That is pretty masochistic of you. You do you.”
He walked up to the bar again. “Two more shots, but make each of them a double.”
Dag decided it might be best to let one of the serving droids start getting the drinks. Things may be picking up the pace. They really did need a woman in here to cause them to think before they drink.
“||I’ve known her since she was a wee babe. You don’t see me bringing up your siblings into casual conversation.||”
Jaz walked towards the bar, right arm draped over the shoulders of Maeva. As they got close, the glow of neon reflected off of his freshly repaired and polished armor. He looked up at the flashing blue neon sign that read ”The Salty Dug” and took a deep breath in before turning to Maeva.
“The Salty Dug… this is the place.”
“The Salty Dug? I met an … interesting Dug before we met.” she replied.
Jaz tilted his head to the side slightly.
“Well, there are a lot of Dugs out there in the Galaxy. I even heard of one that was a pod racer on Tatooine. Surely it’s not the same one.”
The Evereni smiled and nodded at Jaz as he opened the door and held it for her to enter. She entered and Jaz followed right behind her. He took a look around the room, expecting the worst considering what usually happened at these kind of events… but there were no lightsabers… no limbs on the floor… it appeared mostly peaceful.
Just then Vincent turned and saw the two enter. He nearly jumped off of his stool, shouting dramatically.
“JAZ!”
His face then turned bitter and his eyes narrowed.
“You’re late.”
<@216702440140046336>
Maeva did a quick check of the surroundings. Not just to see what the location had to offer but also the different exit locations.
She heard a familiar voice shouting Jaz’s name and the Evereni subconsciously took a step back but was only stopped due to Jaz being right behind her. She averted her eyes from Vincent and continued to walk towards the bar with Jaz and took note of the Togruta near by Vincent.
She was going to chime in about Jaz being late but with the look of pure sourpuss on Vincent’s face, she had decided against it.
She was ready for a drink.
“Hi, may I have-” she suddenly stopped as she realized who it was.
And he was right behind the bar. Was it possible he was the owner of the bar?
The Salty Dug… she can only hope he wasn’t salty to what she did.
“Jaz… I shot that Dug,” her voice was low enough that only Jaz could hear her.
-# <@679032520699805708> <@111293136042504192>
Jaz turned his head to Maeva, beneath his helmet his eyes were wide. He spoke as they took their seats near Vincent, but just loud enough for her to hear.
“That one? Are you sure?”
Before she could answer, Vincent stood and wrapped an arm around the beskar covered shoulders of the Mandalorian. Jaz eyed him strangely, Vincent wasn’t usually a touchy guy… unless he was about to stab someone. The Sith turned to Morvyn and Dag.
“Morvyn… you’ve met Jaz. Dag, this is my friend Jaz and his lady friend Maeva.”
”Lady friend?” Jaz thought. ”Great. He’s already drunk.”
Morvyn grabbed both glasses as soon as they hit the counter. He started to slide one slightly toward Vincent before stopping and pulling it back.
“Actually….. no. I think I’m keeping both of these.” He said with a smirk.
He threw back the first shot with ease. The second did not go down nearly as smooth. Morvyn let out a slow breath through his nose before setting both empty glasses down against the counter a little harder than he meant to. The Togruta leaned forward against the bar. His eyes drifted toward the entrance as Jaz and Maeva walked in before settling back on Vincent.
“You know,” he started, “for a group of Sith trying to relax, everyone in this room looks one bad sentence away from starting a fight.” He glanced around the cantina for a moment. “That is probably why these gatherings usually end with somebody missing a hand or eating glass.”
He paused for a moment and tilted his head to the side. “Wait… no. That was just me.”
“||Hello beautiful blue…don’t worry, if I didn’t serve women who shot me I’d be out most of my clientele. What’ll it be?||”
“Pretty sure…” Maeva listened to the Togruta as she shifted body weight to her other leg and rolled her shoulders back a bit.
This scene slightly reminds her of her undercover work.
Due to Dag talking, she didn’t catch that Vincent called her Jaz’s lady friend. She gave the Dug a flashing smile, revealing her sharp teeth. Though, she did look at her skin real quick before back up to Dag. She didn’t catch Vincent calling her Jaz’s lady friend.
“||You never did get your eyes checked, did you? Two shots, Port in the Storm for me and… ||” She switched over to basic, unsure if Jaz knew Huttese, “Jaz, what would you like?”
-# <@679032520699805708> <@466040899970007041>
Vincent turned back to his ale and continued nursing it. He was taken aback by Morvyn quickly downing two double shots.
”I have a bad feeling about this…” he thought to himself.
Jaz smiled, understanding Huttese perfectly well. Many of his bounties had come from the Hutts. Knowing Huttese was very useful in his line of work. He thought for a second and then looked to Dag.
“I’ll have a Serennian herbal gin and tonic.”
“||Sure, two lady drinks coming right up.||” Dag whirled around the bar on his mobile chair pulling glasses and bottles with practiced ease.
“||Is your friend gonna need a straw?||” Dag produced a paper container that had a Mando crest and said “Offical Mando drink straw. This is the way…you suck” as a marketing gimmick.
Based upon the design it’s hard to tell if it’s real or a gag gift but Dag produced it with a genuine belief Jaz would take it.
“||Thanks, Dag.||” Maeva then handed the shot to Jaz and watched as Jaz used the new feature of his helmet and smirked as she tapped his glass with hers, hit the bottom of it on the bar, and shot it back.
She coughed as she winced. Holy. She wasn’t expecting it to be that strong. She grabbed the Port in the Storm and took a few sips as if it would ‘help’ with that kick she just had.
She over heard Morvyn and let out a soft dramatic gasp, “you lost your hand? May I see? I always find it fascinating to how they manage to find each nerves- wait, no, oh, oh no, you lost your hand….” Maeva purple eyes with slits seemed to look like it was going to be filled with tears.
-# <@111293136042504192>
Jaz turned to Dag and waved off the straws.
“No need. Check this out!”
Jaz pressed a couple of buttons on his left vambrace and his helmet quickly split up the middle from the bottom of the face to about where the bottom of his nose would reside. With a click the helmet opened and retracted inward, exposing only his mouth and a bit of the sandy blonde goatee surrounding it. He smirked.
“Pretty neat, right?”
He quickly followed Maeva’s lead and pounded the shot back. He almost hissed at the taste but then let out an overly loud, satisfied sounding “AHHH!”
“WOW! THAT STUFF IS GOOD!” he said, not seeming to realize just how loudly he was speaking.
Morvyn waved his hand around and looked at both sides of his palm. “Yes it was very sad, but yet a lesson was learned. My master’s offspring are psychotic and volatile.” He wasn’t directly looking at Maeva. It looked as if he was talking to himself.
He snapped back to reality and watched Jaz’s new tool. “Very eccentric choice of gadget for a Mandalorian, Jaz.”
<@466040899970007041>
Jaz smiled at Morvyn. He grabbed his glass of gin and tonic and took a drink before placing it back down on the bar.
“THANKS! IT WAS SOMETHING THAT MY ARMORER CAME UP WITH AFTER HEARING ME COMPLAIN FOR A FEW YEARS ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO EAT IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS!” Jaz responded, still totally unaware that he was near shouting.
Vincent finished his ale and signaled to Dag for another. He squinted at Jaz.
“Hey, Jaz, buddy, think you could possibly speak any louder? I don’t think the ghost of Yoda heard you.”
Jaz turned to Vincent.
“OH! SORRY!” he said, still not realizing that his voice was extremely loud.
He shook his head a bit, regaining his bearing after that abnormally strong shot, then he spoke again… barely above a whisper.
-# “Better?”
Vincent sighed, throwing his hands up before letting them land back on his legs.
“No… not really…”
Slyth stuck his head out from the back room at the noise. Dag motioned him back with his hand as his feet prepped and served the next round of orders.
Slyth rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Don’t come calling with they sssucker punch you.”
Maeva pouted slightly as she continued to drink her Port in the Storm.
Master? Was this guy a slave? She leaned close to Morvyn.
“Hey…” Her voice was low and soft. Unlike Jaz who was piercing her ears.
-# “Are you a slave? We can try to get you out of here.”
Maeva then sat up straight and finished her drink to try to look inconspicuous. She turned to look to Vincent.
“No need to be so mean to Jaz! Gosh. He just… exuberant. It’s quite cute.”
That didn’t work as the room was spinning and she yelped when she stumbled off the stool.
-# <@111293136042504192> <@466040899970007041> <@679032520699805708>
Dag looked at Brujah and chuckled. “||You want me to start watering down her drinks now or just let what happens, happen?||”
Vincent watched as Maeva tumbled to the floor. He raised an eyebrow and looked as though he wanted to laugh for a second, but instead he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Jaz turned back from Morvyn at the noise and his voice was right back to ear piercing levels.
“MAEVA! ARE YOU OKAY?!” he asked as he hopped off of his stool and bent down next to her to check on her.
Vincent turned back to Dag.
“Are you serious? This might be the most entertaining part of the evening.”
<@216702440140046336>
“||Look, just so we’re clear. Even if I did start watering down the drinks you’re still getting charged full price.||”
Morvyn’s head followed Maeva as she fell to the floor without moving the rest of his body. He hopped off his stool and knelt down beside her.
“Am I a slave? Depends on who you ask, I guess. I used to be a full time slave to Zygerrians. Now I am a Sith. My master is Kamjin Lap’lamiz and he was the Emperor before the previous one.”
He rose and stood tall. He looked at Jaz then back to Maeva and offered her a hand. “Would either of you like to take a shot with me?”
<@466040899970007041>
“||Oh, of course. Not a problem.||” Dag then did the opposite.
“Thank you so much,” She grabbed the ‘water’ and drank it and winced.
“It… taste a bit funny. Oh nooo! I’m not saying your water is horrible, Dag! Dag! I am so sorry I shot you, you just didn’t listen- did you ever get that hearing test by the way?”
“||oh ya…tested 150 on it. I have proof if you need it, princess.||”
Maeva’s brows furrowed.
“Another water please… I think I need one more cause wow, that floor is sure going fast,” Then she giggled and glanced to Jaz, “at least not fast as you.” Her cheeks puffed into a pout as she glanced back to Dag, “if you have realllly good hearing, why did you stay on me when I told you to get off?”
“||Sure, you definitely look like you need it. I’m sure it’ll clear up soon. Ever-y one gets a little light headed now and then.||” Dag poured another glass of the clear liquor. Shoot me will she…
“||I’ll tell ya later…if you behave, or don’t, life is short.||”
Jaz took his seat on the stool next to Maeva once she had recovered. He turned his head to Morvyn after hearing Maeva accept the offer for a shot.
-# “Sure! Why not.”
The Mandalorian said just barely loud enough to be heard over the acid fizz in the background.
He then turned his attention back to Maeva and Dag. He smirked at Maeva’s comment, but he was concerned. She still seemed very wobbly, and her comment about the water was more than a little suspicious. He’d have to monitor the situation closely while waiting for his shot.
Vincent sighed loudly, having ordered a drink and not gotten it right away for a second time in the evening. Maybe he was right to question whether or not he was being poisoned earlier. The Dug was very clearly giving Maeva more alcohol.
”Maybe I should have just paid for the damages to the Wolf’s Den…” he thought to himself.
After a moment of contemplation, he waved his arm at Dag.
“When you’re done messing with her..” he said tilting his head towards Maeva. “I’ll have another ale, and one of those shots everyone keeps talking about.”
Frank was assessing the situation. No violence had occurred, and everyone seemed in good enough spirits. But they all seemed to be getting quite intoxicated quite quickly.
“Master Brujah, do you think that drinking this excessivel-”
“Shut up, Frank!” cut the droid off.
“||Fine…spoil sport.||” Dag filled the requested orders and finally gave Maeva an actual glass of water.
“||Course, if she thought that was water already then she’s gone for the night.||”
Dag counted on his toes and made sure everyone had their requested drink order.
“Two shots of Corellian whiskey for the lady, the Mando, the Hand, and myself.” He used his mechanical thumb to point to each of them as he named them off.
Morvyn turned to Jaz, “how long has this been a thing?” He tilted his head in Maeva’s direction.
<@466040899970007041>
“Messing with me?” Maeva’s eyes shifted over to massive doe-y like eyes as she looked ot Dag.
“Dag… I don’t understand. Is it because I do not return the love? What is love anyways?” Maeva let out a dramatic sighed as she rested her head on her hand. She jumped when Vincent got loud towards the droid who was just simply being a sweetheart and keeping an eye out on them.
“Vincent, are you alright? All that pent up anger…. is there anything we can do to help? When was the last time you had se- wait, when did you get over there…” She pointed to the area by him, NOT where he was sitting.
“And why is the room dancing behind you… Yay! Drinks!” Maeva grinned as she took the shot that Morvyn had offered to all of them.
“||Baby don’t hurt me…don’t hurt me…no more…||” Dag’s mumbled response couldn’t be heard over the Acid Fizz music from the stage.
Morvyn quickly drank the shot delivered to him. As the whiskey went down a wave of warmth flowed over him. His body shivered quickly before he set the empty glass down.
“Dag, what would it take for you to get drunk with us?” Morvyn’s words were not slurred, but by the pacing of his speech it was evident he was feeling the effects of the liquor.
Dag sized up the man and the amount he had consumed. “||You strip down into a speedo and go sing a Zax Keevo song while broadcasting it live to Thran.||”
Dag nodded to himself. “||I’d have a drink with ya then.||”
For a moment Morvyn considered the idea. The alcohol he had consumed was enough to ALMOST convince him it was a good idea. His brain returned to reality briefly to catch on.
“||Nice try. I almost fell for it. How about you make me something special and then I will decide?||” Part of him noticed he had slipped into irrational thinking again, but the idea of it was….. fun?
<@679032520699805708>
Dag was starting to see why the Lap’lamiz kids used Moryvn has the butt of their jokes. He reached behind the bar and pulled out liquor purified for the heartier species in the galaxy.
With enough skill and mix-ins the liquor wouldn’t him Morvyn until it was too late.
“||This’ll put hair on your horns kid||”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Maeva grasped the edge of the bar to keep from falling over.
“May I have what he’s having?”
Morvyn stared at the drink for a few moments after Dag set it down in front of him. The smell of the concoction delivered to him was aggressive enough to violate several Imperial safety regulations. He considered for a moment whether this was an actual drink or some elaborate assassination attempt.
“That is either going to be fantastic or deeply irresponsible.” He muttered. “If I die, I’m haunting all of you.”
Morvyn grabbed the glass and threw it back before rational thought could step in. Immediately his face contorted and he coughed twice into his fist. He leaned against the bar for a second longer than normal before slowly pointing toward Dag with one metal finger.
“Alright…” his words dragged slightly together now, “that one felt personal.” He exhaled slowly through his nose. “I need a glass of water before my bloodstream spontaneously combusts.”
Vincent almost interrupted Maeva as she questioned him, but her sudden change of focus saved him the trouble. Instead he raised an eyebrow at the woman, and then ducked back behind her view and waved his hand at Jaz until the Mandalorian turned to him. Using his hands, he made motions with his hands as he mouthed (without speaking) the words: “Is. She. Crazy?”
Jaz tilted his head to the side like a puzzled canine as Vincent spun his finger at his head to sign the word crazy. He leaned in closer to Vincent, ducking behind Maeva. He waved for Vincent to lean in close, which the Sith did. Jaz cupped a hand next to his mouth and leaned close to Vincent’s ear before shouting.
“I DON’T THINK SO!”
Jaz leaned back and raised his arms up to his sides as if signaling “Maybe?”. Vincent winced and nearly jumped off of his stool at the scream into his ear.
“He seems to be having trouble controlling the volume of his voice, Combat Master Brujah.” Frank observed.
Vincent rolled his eyes.
“Yes, Frank. An astute observation, as always.”
Vincent looked in front of him and saw two shots of whiskey and an ale. He lifted one shot into each hand and gulped them back one after the other. Jaz noticed this and followed suit, taking back his two shots as well.
“||Kid, geez…don’t you know you’re supposed to dunk that into another drink to mix it?||” Dag knew for a fact that no one had ever told the kid to do that.
“||Look at you thought. I betcha you’d eat a glass if someone dared you too.||” The Dug did fix him a water though he questioned if he’d see straight enough to get half of it in his mouth.
Maeva scooted to the edge of the stool and her arms still across the bar as her grip is tight on the edge.
She wasn’t going to let the floor swallow her up.
“Oh! Thank you!” Maeva purred excitedly as she took down the shots.
She coughed as the harsh burn went down her throat.
“Drevdea,” Maeva grumbled as she placed her forehead on the bar and was really quiet for what feels like eternity.
She slowly turned to look at Jaz.
“Why are you even with me? I am ugly, I am hideous, there are tons of more beautiful beings out there!” Maeva angrily declared. She let go of one of her grip and swung her free hand towards Tiny.
Then further behind her and towards Vincent and Morvyn.
“But me!?” She placed her hand onto her chest.
“Me!? An Evereni! Reputation for deception, betrayal, and murder!” Then she brought her arm back, buried her face between her arms and started sobbing.
Jaz nearly jumped out of his seat to wrap his arms around Maeva and embrace her so that she could let out her sadness on his shoulder. The Mandalorian stared at Vincent in front of him, but not behind Maeva. He spoke with a tone that seemed to indicate that his voice was meant to be at a whisper, but it very much wasn’t.
“THIS IS YOUR DOING!” he said as he glared at his friend, the Sith.
Vincent raised his arms to his chest like he had been shot in the heart by a slugthrower.
“The kark did I do?!” he asked as he raised his hands to the side and looked around the room for assurance.
Vincent turned to Frank.
“Frank, what did I do?!”
“Combat Master Brujah, I believe that the issue may have been when you impli-”
“Shut up, Frank!” the Sith hissed.
Jaz turned his attention solely to Maeva. He leaned in closely and spoke directly into her ear.
-# “I don’t care about the reputation of your people. I don’t care about the opinion of every being in this Galaxy that has led you to believe that you are less than you are. I care about you. The woman who laughs at my stupid jokes. The woman who brought me back from near death. The woman who treats me like I am someone that should be respected when no one before her ever has. The woman that freezes up and says something about dead bodies when things get just a little too uncomfortable.”
He lifted her head with his hand so that she was looking up at his helmet and she could see his mouth move.
-# “I don’t understand what anyone has ever seen in you that would lead them to make you feel ugly, because when I look at you, all I see is beauty.”
Dag rolled his eyes. So they’d reached this part of the evening already. “||Lyn, get up here. We have a F10.929 up here.||”
Lyn and Slyth came scurrying out from behind the bar. Slyth had a mop and bucket while Lyn had a damp cloth. Slyth sighed with relief to see the woman still upright and not bent over. He hissed as he wheeled the mop and bucket back behind the bar.
Lyn tilted her hip as she took in the scene. “Now Sugah, why don’t we ladies go freshen up. Let’s let these boys figure out why they’ve not yet come to blows over you yet.” Lyn placed a comforting hand on Maeva’s shoulder while gesturing towards the refresher.
Maeva jumped when Jaz shouted.
“W-wait no no no,” she blubbed, “Vincent didn’t do anything-”
Maeva froze as she listened to Jaz. She started to feel really nervous and anxious. Her heart pounding.
This can’t be real…
She felt like she was going to cry. This was too much for her to take. He had to be biased. He had to be wrong. But she wanted to enjoy this while she had it before he eventually leaves her. She leaned in for a kiss-
A hand went on her shoulder.
Maeva shrieked and side-stepped.
She glanced at the beautiful Twi-lek, or tried to despite everything was spinning, and stumbled on her footing.
She can sort of see where she was gesturing and looked to her confused. Then anger suddenly swelled up in her.
“No! I don’t need to pee and I don’t want to be alone with a gorgeous lady like you!”
Slyth hissed from the back room, the woman’s voice was carrying even above the Acid Fizz music. “Oh Sugah, you’re not my type. You sure you don’t need a moment?” Lyn put her rejected hand on her hip as she stared at the woman, chuckling politely at the thought that the woman was probably seeing two or three Lyn’s in front of her.
Morvyn stared at the glass of water for a few seconds like he was trying to remember who ordered it. Eventually he grabbed it and took a long drink. He didn’t even register that he took a drink and thought he was taking a shot. “Dag, when are you going to get me that water?”
He turned towards the others. “You know…” his words didn’t have any pauses and felt like one large jumble. “We need to do better about not fighting amongst ourselves. Ya know…. I mean look at you, Jaz and Vincent. Best friggin’ buds if you ask me.”
The Togruta had not read the room or kept up with what was happening. He leaned harder against the counter than he intended to and stared off toward the stage for a moment while the Acid Fizz music continued in the background.
“I got no friends. Except that one guy…. He is metal… what was his name?” He muttered. “Provolone. No. Protato.” Morvyn paused for a second before turning back toward the others, waving his half empty glass of water. “PROTO! Yep. That droid is my only friend and he can rust out for all I care.”
Morvyn had no clue he was rambling…
Dag rolled his eyes as he made another water for the man. If he was lucky he’d make it through this evening without a lose. Clearly someone was going to do something amongst this group of light weights.
Vincent was still clearly taken aback by Jaz blaming him for Maeva’s condition. This was the first time that he could ever remember Jaz snapping at him in the decade that they had known each other. He grabbed his ale from the bar and drank it all down in a matter of seconds. He seemed genuinely confused. His facial expressions switched like a trained actor trying to show their range of emotions.
“This is bantha fodder, Jaz. If anything, you should be thanking me that she isn’t still being fed more liquor when she wants water.”
Jaz, however, was still focused on Maeva. The words flew right over his head. The Mandalorian was solely focused on the woman in front of him. Then it finally hit Vincent.
”My little Mandalorian is becoming a man…” he thought to himself as a small, somber smile crossed his face.
Jaz tried to reassure Maeva.
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine.” he said as he patted her back gently.
Then Vincent heard Morvyn speak. He took in the words as quickly as he could, because they were coming out of his mouth as fast as a Star Destroyer in hyperspace.
“Friends can be overrated.” he said to the togruta. “Sure, every once in a while you run into someone that stays for the long run and has your interests in mind, but most people out there just want something from you. Solitary life has its benefits. Not letting people close means no one gets to hurt you, or nag at you, or blame you for their girlfriend’s behavior.”
The Sith glared at Jaz for a moment before he waved to Dag and pointed to his empty ale glass.
“But you’re right. There is no room now for infighting amongst ourselves. The stakes are too high. We have too much to lose. I intend to make sure that we all walk away from what is to come victorious, battle hardened, and ready for whatever is next.”
“||Yeah, sure…why not big guy.||” Dag poured another cold frothy ale for Vincent.
“||So, do you use the Force to filter this stuff or are you just gonna let out a massive stream in the alley in about ten minutes?||”
“See!? I’m not anyone’s type-” Maeva angrily shouted but then settles down as she giggled. She turned around and faced Jaz. Her hands went to the sides of his helmet.
After several tries. The helmet was moving too much.
Once she managed to get a good grip of it, she pulled him towards her and-
“Drevdea!” she let him go, “I really have to pee!”
The Evereni started to stumble as she tried to find the bathroom.
“The floor needs to stop moving…” She started to sway towards the left.
A breeze issued from the open door as a cloaked and hooded figure in black entered The Salty Dug. Dag sighed as he recognized the man immediately.
“||The usual?||”
“Yes. In a clean glass Dag.” The man pulled back his hood revealing himself to be Kamjin Lap'lamiz, Justicar of the Brotherhood. He squinted at the Dug. “Dag, I’m serious. A clean glass.”
“||It is clean!||” Dag glanced at the glass and put it back for another. Pouring an amber wine into the glass. “||You know, the Alderaanian grapes grown on Quermia aren’t half bad for this vintage.||”
Kamjin took a bar stood near Brujah and swirled the glass, took a sniff, and then sipped. “You know I don’t understand you, Dag. This does taste better than the last stuff you poured me.” Kamjin’s shoulders slumped slightly as he sighed.
“Hi Brujah, making a good night of it?”
Morvyn continued various ramblings and mumblings even though no one was paying attention. He was able to finish the water he had been sloshing around and grabbed the second glass of water Dag set in front of him. The Togruta let out a deep sigh before drinking the entire glass of water in one go and then slammed the glass back onto the bar.
The room had stopped spinning, but he was able to think a little clearer now. However, he was still far enough gone that he had not heard the door open behind him.
A shiver went down his spine. For a moment he was afraid to turn around. He knew this feeling. There was only one person it could be. His master, Kamjin.
His drunken stupor has been halted by the fear keeping his mouth shut.
Brujah felt the room turn cold as the door opened, but this wasn’t cold from the outside, it was shivers from the Force warning him to beware. He turned from his seat just in time to see Kamjin approach. Internally, he seethed. Kamjin hadn’t personally done much to gain Vincent’s disdain. His children were another matter completely, but the man himself… the most he had done was embarrass Brujah on this most recent training mission by soaking all of his starfighters in paint prior to the drill ending.
But Vincent returned to the Brotherhood right around the time that Kamjin and Ellac Conrat had their gruesome duel. It had never sat right with Vincent what Kamjin had done to Conrat, but he had never been in a position to question it. The majority of the Combat Master’s hard feelings towards Kamjin were directly related to his offspring and their uncontrollable antics and self absorbed nature. This led Vincent to believe that Kamjin had raised them in such a way that they lacked any real discipline.
Regardless, tonight wasn’t the night to address any of this. There was too much at stake in the coming days. Both CSP and the Chamber of Justice would need to be in top form for the war. Hostilities here wouldn’t do. The Hand of the Empress swallowed down his anger and pessimism and put on the fake smile that he had grown so used to.
“Kamjin, how nice of you to join us.” he said. “The night has gone mostly well… well, as well as any of these Scholae Palatinae endeavors tend to go. I might even say better. No one has lost a limb yet tonight.”
He paused for a moment, a smirk growing on his face.
“But, I suppose the night isn’t over yet.” he said as he raised his glass towards the Justicar.
The Sith turned and noticed Frank’s shiny new leg.
“And how are things with Kai? I do hope you’ve been able to talk some sense into the boy.”
Kamjin sniffed and took another sip of his wine. “They’re progressing.” Kamjin instead turned to glance at Morvyn and the way his apprentice was struggling to regain his composure.
“I see Dag is still messing with people.”
“||You should have heard him whining about Komilia.||”
Kamjin narrowed his eye on Morvyn and then smirked. “Dag, are you ever going to learning Basic?”
“||Are you ever going to stop being an absolute pisser of a man?||”
Hibbity Jibbity, the cautious merc of a Mon Calamari rose his seat but kept his distance. Tiny looked up from her drink and warbbled a greeting at the Sith. Kamjin ignored him.
“I came to deliver something personally. A recognition of what you’ve done for the Clan and for what you’ve had to put up with. Consider it a thank you.”
Kamjin passed a small object to Brujah.
Maeva was guided by the Twi'lek as they made it to the bathroom, she did her business.
With the flush, she opened the door and didn’t move back enough as she slammed the door in her face, causing her to yelp and then a soft whine.
“It’s fine, I’ve had worse-” She stumbled over to the sink and turned on the water to wash her hands first.
Afterwards, she leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on her face, hoping it would help with the spinning.
“I’m fine, I’m fine-” Maeva muttered. She was going to feel like absolutely kist in the morning.
They headed out of the bathroom and the room had stop spinning for now. She glanced towards the Trandoshan and her training had kicked in. She remembered learning about the fascination of species regen-
“Jaz!” Maeva smiled at seeing him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She placed her head on his chest armor and glance up with a pout.
“Another drink then you can throw me over your shoulder and take me back to your place?”
-# <@466040899970007041>
Lyn mouthed “Water” clearly to Dag several times until the Dug finally nodded in agreement.
Morvyn slowly pushed himself upright the second he felt Kamjin’s attention settled on him. He still had one hand wrapped around the empty water glass while the other stayed planted firmly against the bar as if it was the only thing keeping him attached to the floor.
For once, he was quiet.
The Togruta finally looked toward his master and immediately regretted it. He tried to give a respectful bow from his stool and nearly folded himself directly into the counter instead. One hand shot out and caught him before he could completely faceplant in front of everyone.
An awkward silence followed.
Morvyn cleared his throat and sat back up, though now he looked painfully aware of every movement he made. “You know…” he started carefully, “Welcome, master. To what do we owe this honor of the great Kamjin’s presence” His words continued to be jumbled together and slightly slurred. “Care for a shot with your apprentice?” He paused again. “We are about to go to war and should celebrate together before……” Morvyn’s words trailed off as he lost his train of thought.
He stared down into the empty water glass like he expected answers to be inside it.
“I’m gunna stop talking now.”
<@679032520699805708>
Vincent eyed Kamjin curiously as he passed the object to him. Once the item was firmly within his grasp, Vincent opened his hand and looked down. While he was trying to control his pessimism, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was some kind of bounty puck with his details on it. To his surprise, it was a medallion bearing the Imperial cog and the word “ELDER”.
He looked at the item, puzzled for a moment, but indeed, he had felt his power growing immensely over the past few months. This was a moment that he had waited a long time for. He felt feelings that he didn’t usually feel; pride, accomplishment, even gratitude that he had been recognized. He looked up to Kamjin.
“You honor me.” was all he could manage to get out.
On the other side of the room Jaz smiled brightly at Maeva. She seemed to be doing at least a little better. His smile turned into a smirk similar to one that Vincent would give. Nearly chuckling to himself, he spoke in a cheesy, robotic voice that sounded close to the voice of a B1 Battle Droid.
“Roger, roger!”
Vincent had heard Maeva from across the room. He turned to Jaz and the woman, still beaming from the gift that Kamjin had given him.
“One more drink, eh? This round is on me. Dag, a shot of Correlian whiskey for the house please.”
Maeva laughed at Jaz’s joke. She always loved hearing it even when it was dumb. It was the first one that made her laugh when he got out of the bacta tank.
Maeva grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the bar as she practically slammed to the edge.
“Oh! Thank you, Vincent!” She almost went in for a hug but something told her that would not be wise. Instead, she pressed her body back to Jaz, her safety.
“Correlian whiskey… ooh.”
“You honor yourself. A Sith’s power is their own. Don’t forget that.” Kamjin took the final sip of his wine and stood up from the stool.
“I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your evening.” As Kamjin started to leave he put a firm hand on Morvyn’s shoulder.
“Apprentice, I will await you. It is time I took a more personal hand in your training.” Kamjin sneered as he took in the drunken sight of his apprentice. He shook his head as he drew his hood over his head.
“||Hey! Are you going to pay for that drink? You’re not on their tab!||” Dag bounced on the counter as he yelled after the Justicar but he was already gone.
“||Karking guy does it to me again!||” Dag kicked the countertop with his hand. The Dug hopped back to his chair, poured the shots, and put them out on the table while his serving droids passed out shots to the rest of The Salty Dug’s patrons. Dag was careful to put water in the glass going to Maeva.
“||It’s a really strong and special whiskey for you.||”
Lyn rolled her eyes at the Dug but was thankful he had remembered.
Maeva was quiet and didn’t make herself known. She may had been drunk but she knew who Kamjin was and Maeva was never comfortable around Force Users although it was obvious she was surrounded by them.
Once he was gone, she quickly grabbed the shot and downed it. She coughed and frowned.
“I knew you hate me!” Maeva whined as she sniffled. But then she put on her charm.
“||Dag…||” Maeva purred as she leaned over the bar, her sharp teeth revealing. A single finger pushed the shot towards the Dug.
“||What would it take for you to give me an actual shot, handsome?||”
“||Just put your thumb and Imperial chain code in here.||” Dag gave a beaming smile as he offered her a data pad.
Jaz took his shot and then side-eyed Dag Duh Dug, and quickly put an arm around Maeva’s shoulder, guiding her away from the bar. With minimal effort, he lifted her up and tossed her over his left shoulder. He looked to Vincent first, then Morvyn, and finally the staff.
“WELL FOLKS! IT’S BEEN A LOVELY EVENING BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE GETTING OUT OF HERE WHILE OUR… OR MY LEGS CAN STILL CARRY US!” he shouted.
With that Jaz made his way towards the exit of the bar, Maeva giggling as he walked. As soon as he exited the door the sound of his jetpack firing up and Maeva screaming out in surprise could be heard.
Vincent took his shot and shook his head. He lifted his fingers to his eyes and pressed in ever so slightly while rubbing, as if he was fighting off a headache. He turned to Morvyn.
“Well, I think that’s all the fun I have in me for the night as well.”
Vincent tossed a credit chit onto the bar.
“Allow me to cover Kamjin’s drink, in addition to our agreed payment for the evening.”
Morvyn stayed perfectly still until Kamjin finally disappeared out the door. The second the man left the room, the Togruta slumped back against the bar and let out a slow breath through his nose.
“…I thought I was dead for a second.”
Morvyn rubbed one hand down his face before muttering to himself, “‘Personal hand in your training.’ Yeah… I am absolutely getting my ass kicked later.”
He rose from his bar stool to exit the bar with the others.
“||Kamjin’s got a running tab. I’m not going to have my accountant freak out trying to split any of his tab. Here’s the butcher’s bill for the night.||” Dag keyed some changes into the datapad and slid it over to Brujah to sign off on.
Vincent eyed the datapad carefully, looking for any skimmers or other hijinks, but after a moment he realized that the ISB would audit the transaction anyway. Satisfied with what the result of any shenanigans would be, he signed. He bowed his head to the staff and then made his way to the exit.
Celeste smirked at seeing Vincent at the doorway.
“Hello, darling,” she then frowned as she glanced to inside the bar and back over to his eyes.
“It seems I am rather late. Regardless, let’s find a new toy to play with. Masahiro has been breathing at my neck as of late due to the war stress.” Celeste rolled her eyes then become serious for a moment.
“We need to keep our skills, sharp.”