Old Habits Die Hard [FZ]

A black hole. Its big. Its wide. Once your sucked into its embrace, there's almost not chance for you. You'll be sucked into its waiting mouth, devoured into only god knows what, never to be seen again.

Except that the gaping hole wasn't a black hole, though some could consider it as such. Shine clamped his mouth down as the yawn faded, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had just arrived an hour ago after all, and until that hour, he'd been passing the time in lightspeed by catching up on some much needed sleep. Sleep that he had passed up on the last stop of his never ending trip through the stars for.....various reasons. Good reasons, mind you, but reasons that left him with just enough sleep to remain focused to do the things that needed to be done. Now that it had been done and he was once again in the stars, sleep had been the first thing he'd done in excess.

Correction; now that the events on Tatooine had passed AND he'd finished the task that he'd acquired by going to the planet in the first place. Originally, he'd gone to the desert world with two suns in order to look for work. One of his "trusted" buddies and informants had told him that if he was in the need of cash, the Hutt Lord that made his home upon that wasteland's surface was always looking for reliable people to do business for him. Before that, Shine had never really encountered a Hutt before, though he'd heard the stories. It was a risk to do work for one....but the Cat had needed the repairs and there was no other options really available at the time. So, like the Corellian he was, he'd taken that risk.

No one could have told him the Hutt would be that...twisted. Nor that if he failed in his task, he'd be the next person to find himself being hunted like a dog by the hunters who'd flock to the bounty the Hutt put on his head. Luckily, Shine was two things. A swift tongue....and an even better pilot. He'd saved himself by getting a job that was neither hard nor dangerous....and even managed to get the Cat fixed ON top of the money he earned for completing the job. But nothing could have prepared him for his run in with a familiar...and not unwanted, face. A smart, skilled Corellian pilot by the name of Samantha Zaftig. Nor would he have known that he'd manage to join her and her companions in freeing a friend of theirs, a task that was dangerous considering who'd they be screwing over.

But they'd done it. And the Hutt was none the wiser to his involvement, so he'd been able to just slip into the stars after saying farewell to Sam and her friends, off to finish the task he'd been given by the Hutt so he could keep his head. That had been the easy part, dumping off the items the Hutt gave him to the man who wanted it and getting the rest of his payment. With his pockets filled once again and the Cat flying smooth and clear, Shine had taken off into the stars, all smiles and joy.

Didn't last long though. It never did. Obviously all that rough sand from Tatooine had managed to get some places that it wasn't wanted(it always did) and as such, Shine had been forced to head towards the nearest planet in order to repair the damage before it got worse. He'd never let that happen before and be damned, he wasn't going to let his perfect record of keeping the Cat healthy go. Okay, perfect when there weren't outside circumstances. In this case, the nearest planet was the Bothan homeworld of Bothawui. Shine had never visited the planet before, but he knew of the Bothans. Damn fine folks those furry beings were. And had a really good tendency to be there one minute, gone the next.

So Shine had made for the planet, dozed during the trip now that the majority of his worries were gone(he'd made sure the engines would last the trip first) and had been woken by the nav computer upon his arrival. After landing, paying for the dock fare and getting the parts he needed to replace on order, Shine had pocketed some of his money and made out into the city to kill the time for the parts to arrive. Wouldn't be long, but it beat sitting in the ship and ticking away the moments till they got there. The dockmaster had his comm; he'd call when they arrived. The evening light was just setting in too, the perfect time to see how lively this planet was.

Shine didn't have to look far to find a place to settle. The first place he came across was loud enough and with a glance, had a name that made Shine almost burst out laughing. The Black Hole huh? Sounds about right; people go in, their money never comes out. Seems like a place to have a few good one's before heading back. Shine waved off a pair of ladies that approached him a moment later with an offer of "company", knowing exactly just what they meant. He didn't need that...least at the moment. The dimly lit bar was exactly as he expected of a higher kind of establishment.....and a quick glance around showed that it was mostly the furry Bothans that made up the place.

And then there were other species, travelers most likely, as he made his way towards the bar. The shorter seats, which were obviously made for the Bothans, were a bit uncomfortable as he took an empty seat at the bar. But they weren't the worst he'd ever sat on. As the bartender came by and took Shine's order, Shine glanced over at the person sitting next to him. And almost choked out that laugh again as he smiled at the man.

"Now, I know that face. And I know that jacket and frame. And even that smell. But the last time I ran into Pak Har'endanno, he didn't have stalks sticking out of his head. So unless he was really a Balosar, then it couldn't possibly be the same Pak Har'endanno, right?

Either way....nice to see a familiar face in a world of furry ones. Been well I hope?"

Setting down a pile of credits and issuing a grin as well as forms of goodwill towards the bartender, Pak soon had the aforementioned bottle in his hand and was pulling off the cap. He hadn't been entirely sure what he was getting, but the light brown liquid had looked soothing. Upon further inspection in front of him he found out it was an older vintage of rum from Ryloth. A tiny part of him hoped there was also the planet's renowned spice inside, but Pak knew it was a bit too much to ask for, even for the price he paid.

He had been just about to tip the neck of the bottle towards his mouth when an voice broke into his contemplation of the beautiful alcohol. Not the bartender, this was a familiar voice. Pak almost dropped the bottle when he recognized it and glad he didn't. It would have been a waste of a good time. At the same time he chided himself for being so closed off; normally his antennapalps would have noticed the arrival of someone, a disturbance in the aura around him, and signaled this news to him. But the Balosar had been to intent on the bartender, himself, and the bottle of liquor that any information received has passed through unnoticed.

Turning to his right and seeing confirmation that it was indeed the man he had tangled with near Umgul, Pak issued a wide smile. Being so surprised by the appearance of Shine he hadn't really caught most of what he had said but greeted him all the same. "Albatross! Hey, everyone, it's Albatross!" On this bit, he had swung his stool around, waving his bottle at the rest of the clientele. Clientele who mostly just ignored him, not liking the fact that someone of his caliber was in their respected bar, but willing to go along with it as long as the bartender did so.

"Small galaxy, eh?" Pak jabbed the man's shoulder lightly in a friendly manner. He wasn't sure if Shine would still be a bit miffed over their last meeting or not and had decided to play it safe. And hope the man wasn't still carrying a grudge for whatever reason. The Balosar gestured to his bottle that he had replaced back in front of him on the bar. "Share a drink. On me." Pak then got the attention of the Bothan bartender and called out to him. "Hey, barkeep, cancel his order and get Alberts here a glass."

Waiting for a glance from Shine to confirm Pak's request, the Bothan grabbed a couple of glasses and set them before the two men, now even more uneasy, wondering if this guy's friend would be as much trouble as he was. He turned away, his fur ruffling, just reminding himself of the payday he would have at the end of the time. But if there was much more commotion and yelling from the stalk-headed being disturbing the other patrons, he'd have to make a decision. For now, though, he'd let the two be, and hope they moved on somewhere else to talk.

Pak wrinkled his nose a bit at the glass the bartender brought, but then decided it was for the best. No being would want to drink out of a bottle that he would have been sucking on. Even Pak had some manners, sometimes. If necessary. He filled both glasses about halfway, feigning politeness, before turning back to his new companion and realizing he didn't have anything new to say. "So... Bothawui, huh?"

Shine had to avoid laughing as Pak spun to yell out to the bar about his arrival. Not one of the furry Bothans in the bar, nor any of the other species that littered the establishment likely had a clue who Shine was. Nor cared for that matter, those glares being shot their way telling the whole story. Or rather, towards the run down looking Balosar who'd put out the shout. Shine had figured the place for one of those higher end class bars, where the class of people in them were often determined by one thing; money. And those glares were likely because they didn't believe that someone that looked like Pak did could ever get the money to afford this kind of place....or at least if he could, that he could put some more effort into his attire.

Oh my....best try to keep him from getting this bar up on us. It looks like he's had more then his fill of the good stuff.

When Pak jabbed him lightly, Shine chuckled and returned the jab in the form of a pat on the back. He hadn't seen the small man since their run in on Umgul, where they'd accidently mixed up their pickups for their jobs. Pak had taken Shine's and Shine had taken Pak's. The mishap had led them to a song and dance in the space above Umgul, Shine trying to catch Pak and inform him of the error, Pak trying to get away from what he believed at the time to be a con. It had been an impressive battle of skills as they both put forth as much as they could to catch one another. In the end though, Shine had finally managed to convince Pak of the error and, after a brief meeting, had gotten the matter sorted out and parted ways. And Pak was right; in a galaxy as large as this, running into someone who'd job required them to be almost constantly moving for work and to avoid trouble, the chance of meeting randomly was small. Which made a small galaxy.

"Small galaxy indeed. And thanks for the offer. I won't let it go to waste." With a nod to the bartender, he waited for the Bothan to return with two glasses and giving him another nod...along with a flipped credit as a tip. The bartender caught it firmly, glanced at it...and gave him a return nod before moving to attend to other customers. He waited for Pak to fill their glasses, half full as was appropriate for a situation where conversation would be more common then heavy drinking, before giving him a word of thanks as he took the glass in hand. He swirled the glass slowly in his hand, watching the liquid swish around a few times before taking a sip. And he grinned widely as the taste.

"Ah, now that's some fine drinking. I'll have to look into this higher end places more often....though I don't think we're much liked here.

Yea.....was the nearest planet to me at the time. The Cat picked up some slight problems from my last stop so...I had to make a stop and get her repaired before it got worse. Can't let my ship get into a bad state after I just got her all fixed up. Besides, never been to the place, so at least I get to see a new world up close right.

So what brings you here? Other then a chance to sample their fine wares?"

(((Just a little reminder from me that Shine doesn't know Pak's full name, only his last name...
Oh, and sorry if the post sucks. ;p)))



Pak waited, very briefly, for Shine to taste the Rylothian rum before he dove into himself. His companion appeared to just sip it slowly, savoring it, which the Balosar watched with honest curiosity. It was a novelty, that. He himself usually didn't really go into such silly formalities and, to prove it, just lifted the the glass right to his lips and gulped it down in a couple of swipes. It had been only partially filled anyway, right?

He nodded in agreement with the man after the liquid finished traveling down his throat. It was good. Really good, better than most things he had tasted in his small lifetime. And galaxies better than anything from his childhood on his home planet. Those funny Twi'leks knew how to make some good rum. He imagined it was just as good as their spice, though he had unfortunately not had the chance to compare the two yet.

Instead of verbally announcing how good he thought it was, though, instead Pak just reached for the bottle and refilled his glass but this time he forwent any politeness and filled it all the way to the top. The first had been only a taste, a practice run. Now he was ready to get into the real drinking, like he had done for the past couple hours of arriving at this swanky bar.

As he had been doing this, Shine had kept babbling on, speaking on the topic of Bothawui that Pak had brought up. How despite the logic of it all they had both ended up in the same place again. Though thankfully there was no conflict this time. Yet, at least. Pak hoped it would stay that way. He was too tired to get in his ship and blow Shine's ship to bits.

Setting the bottle of rum back down and turning to his glass, he took a large swallow first before looking back to his companion and trying to salvage his side of the conversation. After the initial adrenaline high of being caught unawares by someone he actually knew, the Balosar was slowly drifting back down into his normal stoic drinking state.

A soft and short grunt acknowledged he had heard, and comprehend, Shine's little story about how he had come to this planet. And then Pak dove in with his own answer, be that as it may. He shrugged and took another draught of his rum. "Oh, you know, just a job that ended up here. A young Bothan needed passage back home and her loaded papa paid me well for returning her back home." The Balosar gestured to the bottle of his rum and his surroundings. "I felt some celebratin' was in order."

Shine chuckled and whistled low when he turned back watch Pak. The Balosar obviously had a way of showing his respect for a good drink....by downing more. As soon as that little amount of had been finished, Pak had taken the bottle again and poured himself a full glass of the stuff. Doesn't look like he's planning on leaving anytime soon. Shine chuckled again and took another light sip of his drink before turning his ear to listen to what Pak had to say.

By the time Pak had finished his short little tale, Shine had managed to sip the remaining contents of his glass down, reaching for the bottle to fill a half glass again. No heavy drinking for him today....he could enjoy some light drinking, of some fine drinks. But he needed a mind that could fly and do repairs working for later; getting it sloshed by a large quantity of alcohol would be contrary to that plan. He did have places to be and people to visit within the next few days after all. Getting plastered and stranding himself out here on Bothawui for a few days...well, that would make some people probably very ticked with him. And make him very ticked with himself since he wanted to see some of those people himself.

Taking a moment to let Pak down more of his drink, Shine raised his glass to the bar. "Taking a young lady home....sounds like a nice easy fare. And with a big payload as a result? Lord forbid Pak, how did you get so lucky; any job worth any money that I've come across has always been fraught with pain, danger, sweat, blood...the possibility of death looming over my shoulder. Or worse yet, someone's personal errand boy.

Almost had that happen a little while back though. Bad business on Tatooine...piece of advice, never work for a Hutt unless your forced into it. Too many drawbacks, not enough benefits........did get to see new people, a really pretty face though.

But I hear ya. Sounds like a good reason to enjoy some fine beverages. Just don't go wasting that payday buying drinks the whole night; means you'll have to find another wayward lady to escort home to gather up some more cash right. On that note.....any war stories more exciting then "found a lady, brought her home" since we last met? Or maybe something from before then?"

With a bit of a lull in the conversation in which Shine finished off his glass of rum and refilled it, Pak took the opportunity himself to polish off a bit more of his own. Blazes, that stuff was good. He made a mental note to buy a bottle or two before he left to dispose of himself, privately, at a later time. Which might just end up being later in the night, not in a few weeks. Everything depending on how this current hour or two were gonna go.

Which at the moment didn't seem promising as Albatross went into a little monologue that threatened to put the Balosar to sleep. Pak couldn't remember the guy being this talkative before; maybe he was more of a lightweight to the rum. Most beings generally were, in comparison to Pak himself. Though, at their last meeting there hadn't really been the chance for long conversations, so maybe this human was always this full of hot air. Or maybe Pak just wasn't in the mood at the moment for getting pelted with paragraphs full of boring words. Whatever it was, he reached for his glass and finished off his rum and poured another full glass, only half listening to Shine ramble on and trying not to let his blue eyes glaze over like a still pond in the countryside.

He hoped he caught the important bits, though, and nodded in all the right places as his companion basically reiterated what he had already said about the job that had brought him to this planet. And then he ranted, albeit lightheartedly, about how good Pak's luck was, and how Shine himself always seemed to end up with jobs going back. Or some such. The Balosar wanted to laugh; it wasn't as if he went around with a fishing lure attracting rich young females in trouble. Or even rich beings in general. Maybe it was luck, but Pak didn't really believe in luck.

Pak had been about to interject a noncommittal neutral answer in reply to this insinuation, but then Shine just kept on going. And going. He really feared now that he would really fall asleep right here with his head on the bar propping up his mop of unwieldy brown hair. Why in the galaxy would Alberts think Pak cared about his stupid little Tatooine trip and his silly little example of his bad luck with jobs? All right, I get it already. Blah, blah, blah.... he thought to himself. Maybe it had been a bad idea inviting the guy over for a drink. Maybe he should have just glared at him and left the bar. Except that the drinks here were so good and tasty... He'd just have to suffer a little longer and hope the guy ran out of things to say. Or at least a little more sparingly.

Going for his glass of rum again, hoping to dull Shine's ramblings even further, his ears caught something that warranted listening to. He turned his gaze, finally, from the amber liquid and focused it on his companion's face. Had he just had the gall to suggest that Pak stop drinking? How dare he! He didn't know Pak, didn't know that this was actually light drinking for the Balosar. Of course, he wouldn't actually like Shine know this, but still, it was enough to bring him entirely focused into the conversation, his eyes brightening back again, the color of a fresh blue sky.

So clear his mind was now that he caught the whole of the rest of Shine's words. More galling of his suggestion to slow down in his alcohol intake was the completely insane suggestion that he would even remotely considering enjoying the company of a female tonight. There would be no one else for him. No one besides Shen. His ship was his woman now. His only long-time relationship would be with the bottle.

Since the man had deigned finally to shut up, Pak took the opening to respond to such an affront on his character. He had completely forgotten the invite to tell war stories; he was onto the present, which was all that mattered to him right now. "No stories of female conquest. Sorry to disappoint." Without really meaning to he had let a bit of an edge creep into his voice. After hearing it, though, Pak wasn't sorry about it. But as it settled around his mind more, and he had taken another gulp of rum, decided to offer up an addition, trying to be lighthearted but utterly failing at it. "Guess I've not got the time to be a ladies' man like you, Alberts."

For most of the time Shine spent talking, Pak himself seemed to be focused elsewhere. True, Shine noted, he nodded at the right times in the conversation and only lightly sipped at his drink in the meantime. But Shine knew that look in his eyes. The kind of look that often came when someone, for whatever reason, couldn't be bothered to listen to someone talk at length about something. Disinterest, in this case. Unless Shine was missing his mark at how he seemed to be admiring the detail on the bar counter very closely.

Something he said must have caught Pak's ear though, as his eyes suddenly turned Shine's way. The suddenness of it made Shine have to retrace his steps in the conversation, to the very last thing he'd said before Pak had turned his way. It wasn't the comments about him finding such an easy job....not anything related to the events he'd spoken about the Hutts or that run to Tatooine. That only left.....his suggestion to try not to drink himself out of a full payday? Okay, granted, he didn't know how long Pak had been here or how much he'd drank or how much he intended to drink. But the suggestion was meant to be friendly, not.....

Then again, Pak might just be one of those guys who enjoyed spending a days work at the bar, slowly losing themselves in the atmosphere and their beverages. And really, how much did Shine know about the Balosar's as a race? Hell, for all he knew, they could drink as much as those blasted Zeltrons. As stunning as their women were, those party lovers could outdrink anyone...and if a Balosar could do the same, then Pak was likely going to have a long night of it.

Swishing his drink before sipping another portion of it, he couldn't help but laugh a bit at Pak's suggestion. Even if there was ice in the man's voice regarding the matter, the thought that Shine was a "ladies man" brought a wicked grin to his form as he sipped another quart of that fine liquor.

"Trust me Pak, I'm far from that. Hell, its been a while since I even got a second glance worthy of attention from a lady.

Alright, since you seem to enjoy short answers and your drinks...anything at all you want to talk about? Or are we just to sit here and sip away at our drinks like a pair of old timers in silence?"

After his biting remark to Shine, Pak had turned away from the other man, returning to his glass. He thought if he had looked at his companion any longer, the hardness that had appeared in his eyes might warrant Shine to ask unwanted questions. Pak had thought this would turn into a bit of a friendly chat between two guys who almost shot each other down over Umgul, not turn into an interrogation of his past. Earlier the guy had tried to get him to tell “war stories,” obviously thinking of unusual jobs, not knowing that Pak had in fact been in the Republic military where the real battles were being fought. Then the mention of his alcohol intake, trying to dig out information about perhaps why he was drinking so heavily to Shine’s eyes. And then the mention of females… Pak just couldn’t take this anymore. It was possible Shine was just being friendly and the subject matter was a coincidence, that maybe the alcohol was making him paranoid and clouding the information coming to his antennapalps. But there was also a small possibility that it wasn’t just a coincidence. The Balosar decided to try to keep his wits about him as much as he could, without Shine realizing it.

He was surprised, though, when Shine laughed at Pak’s thought that he was a player. Maybe Shine was oblivious to the steel-edged sarcasm. Or perhaps had just chosen to ignore it, not wanting the conversation to become the downer it was already becoming for Pak. This caused him to look up from his half-empty glass of rum and turn to the man again, curious about whether it was true mirth or just a half-hearted chuckle. But he wasn’t getting any untoward from his ‘palps, and with his rudimentary skills at reading humans, the man seemed genuinely taken aback by the suggestion. Maybe he had understood Shine’s earlier question wrong.

Either way, Pak’s brow rose slightly at Shine’s response. From an entirely analytical view, Pak’s companion was not an entirely hideous and ugly human. And from his earlier blathering about Tatooine and bad luck jobs, it wasn’t as if the guy didn’t ever go anywhere. The Balosar found it hard to believe that Shine hadn’t had any female companionship in a while. Even Pak got some every so often that he very readily ignored. But he didn’t think Shine would ever ignore the attentions of a pretty female. Unless, again, he had completely misunderstood the man. Humans were so hard to read sometimes, especially when one’s senses and antennapalps were a bit addled by alcohol. Pak just shook it off, though; he wasn’t about to feed the man’s ego and tell him to buck up about the lack of female attraction.

And so he was glad when Shine put the subject away and turned to him with another question. He wasn’t happy about the question itself, just that the man didn’t seem to want to dwell on talking about his current failed love life, something that Pak had wanted to avoid. For fear of puking up all his rum. For fear of having to confront his own past experiences with love. To avoid answering Shine for the moment, he finished off his rum and poured a new one slowly. Was there anything he wanted to talk about? Obviously he was the one who had initiated the contact and the conversation by drawing the man in when he had materialized beside him. But he hadn’t thought any farther than just a simple greeting. He had recognized a face in the sea of Bothans and had grasped at the opportunity, despite the reason they had met in the first place.

Looking at his glass, Pak shrugged. He was never a very good conversationalist. The only times that he felt at ease speaking with another being was if the other was an attractive female, a superior office, or a prospective client, and Shine was none of those. The Balosar had already asked Shine what he had been up to. What else was there to say or ask? Especially now that he had basically dimmed the atmosphere around him with his unnecessary coldness about Shine’s imaginary exploits. Maybe an attempt at humor would help a bit. “I’m fine with drinking, Alberts.” He turned his head to look at Shine, quirking up one of his brown eyebrows. “Unless you happen to have some deathsticks on you?” Pak actually had been looking for the drugs off and on the past few months, and didn’t expect Shine to have any. But, hey, he had to try, right? Besides, Shine would probably just think he was joking. Which he was… mostly.

For what Shine had expected of this meeting, it was....well, it wasn't exactly failing in expectations. But it also wasn't completely living up to what he was expecting either. However, that wasn't something he could blame on himself or Pak or anyone really. Aside from their one meeting over Umgul, Shine hadn't run into Pak at any other time, a fact that made what little interaction they'd had before the only thing Shine could draw on in his knowledge of the man.

That and the small interaction they were having now. So to recap....Pak was an amazing pilot, a heavy drinker...what else? Oh right; from the conversation he'd had so far, he disliked speaking about things in the past, or at least Shine suspected as much from his short and often sharp responses to his questions.

At least Shine's comment about him not being a "ladies man" per say had caught Pak's attention. To most of the things Shine had said or done today since his arrival, Pak had stared at his drink when he responded, his tone one of disinterest most the time. The reaction he had to that was probably his first one of the night aside from his active welcome that showed he was listening. It was enough to get Shine to smile respectfully and to finish his drink with a single go, shaking his head to either side to shake off the sudden spike the alcohol sent through his head.

Phew, strong stuff when you take it like that. I'll have to be sure to pace myself if I don't want to end up seeing stars when I'm not flying through them.

They sat there for a few moments more in a relative silence, neither of them speaking as Shine awaited an answer for his latest question, Pak musing to himself on whether or not to answer it. Or maybe he was pondering just what to reply to it with. Any of those could have been likely; Pak wasn't giving much away otherwise, his attention fixed on pouring himself another glass of the drink they were sharing. As soon as he was done, Shine followed suit, pouring himself another half glass and tilting his head to look out at the folks around them.

Most of the crowd had stopped glaring at them now, spending most of their time now mingling over their own drinks, chatting up a storm with one another and in a few spaces here and there, playing Pazak games. The usual bar activity.....expect for the one corner, where a small group of aliens were sitting in relative silence. Glaring out at a small patch of Bothans chatting over a drink and mindlessly tossing cards back and forth as they played a simple game Shine wasn't familiar with. Possible trouble? Lord, he hoped not. A drink always tasted sour when someone decided to make the night a personal vendetta or raised a funk....at least he had his blaster ready in case it did.

Pak finally managed a reply to his question, though it wasn't what he expected it to be. Well, it was in a way...but the second part about the deathsticks caught Shine by surprise. The way he had asked it, along with that eyebrow and the look Pak was giving him lead Shine to believe he was joking though, so Shine simply shrugged his shoulders and chuckled a bit. "Nope, can't say I do. Not exactly a fan of losing myself in what they have to offer nor do I really know anyone that would know where to get some. Just to avoid that question if you wanted to pop it.

Why, have you dabbled in the dazzle that is the deathstick phenomenon?" A simple enough question with a light and teasing tone behind it...but if it worked out well enough, Shine might just get a little more information about Pak as a bonus depending on how he shot back a reply. And out of the corner of his eye as he took a sip of his drink, Shine watched that group in the corner...watched them very very carefully.

(((Hope you don't mind me ID'ing a couple of the 'suspicious' aliens...)))



At first Pak thought maybe the attempt at lightening the conversation with his comment about deathsticks had been the wrong move. There was a brief second or two before Shine answered that the Balosar prepared himself for any reaction to what the man might do. But though his ‘palps were registering a change in emotion, it didn’t seem to be related to any danger, and Pak relaxed again. Maybe his candor had just surprised his companion, which was entirely possible. It was probably not every day that Shine or any other ‘normal’ being was made that request. Even if he had only been half-joking about it.

When Shine laughed it off and replied in kind, Pak relaxed even further. His remark had bounced harmlessly off the other man. Shine talked about the ill effects of deathsticks, how he would have no idea where to get any. Oh, you have no idea how much one could lose themselves in them… Pak smiled in response, trying to hold the ruse of his joke for a few moments longer. Any awkwardness that had arisen had dissipated just as quickly as it had come. He felt like he had just dodged a blaster bolt. Now he just had to hope that the Bothan bartender hadn’t been nearby when he had mentioned the deathsticks. Or at least hadn’t thought Pak’s question was serious. This wasn’t exactly the type of establishment were such dealings were commonplace.

He considered Shine’s question. The man had meant it in the same joking tone that Pak had used to disguise his very real quandary about the deathsticks. It had to be harmless; Shine had just picked up on the topic and decided to go with it, instead of diverting again to a new subject. The Balosar picked up his glass and sipped from it, still holding it up, letting the liquid swirl around. Though he wasn’t a fan of bringing up his past, this was his way back past, his childhood, and it wasn’t as difficult to talk about. And if he kept on the light teasing manner, Shine wouldn’t be the wiser about how much truth was actually contained inside. Plus, it wasn’t as if he generally made a secret of his harsh upbringing. As long as Shine didn’t venture again to the subject of women or anything in his recent past, Pak would be fine to talk about just anything, especially now that he had a few glasses of rum in him.

Pak looked at the rum in his glass. “Oh, not recently.” The Balosar kept his tone light. Glancing sideways at his companion, he added, “Haven’t been able to find a reputable dealer, you know.” He twitched a side of his mouth, a crooked grin breaking out on his face. Though he knew he was possibly playing with fire here, it had been a while since he had been able to talk to someone, really talk. And even if he wasn’t revealing too much to Shine, it was still nice to be able to joke around with another being. He almost didn’t even need the alcohol anymore to keep his demons at bay.

It was then that he noticed a different aura coming off of Shine. The man seemed to be surreptitiously looking around the room every so often during their conversation. Now that his mood had lifted a bit, Pak was able to focus his mind and antennapalps a bit more. There was definitely some underlying uneasiness there. Casually, he turned on his stool, better to lean his left arm on the bar top and still keeping Shine in his sights. And also, just as subtly, look towards the corner where Shine seemed to keep glancing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except the fact that the table contained no Bothans. Odd, but not entirely unusual. He and Shine were in the upscale bar, and they weren’t native. Pak didn’t recognize a couple of the beings, but from his position the others looked to be maybe Ubese, another Devaronian. Turning his attention back to Shine, Pak decided to keep his ‘palps extra alert, just in case. If Shine was uneasy, he should be, too.

(Not at all)

At last, success! For only the second time since his arrival, Pak had smiled in response to something he’d said. Shine couldn’t help but feel a little overjoyed at this concept. After all, while Pak had greeted him with the splendor that usually comes when two friendly parties meet again, he’d spent the rest of the time acting as if Shine was a nuisance. To finally break through that veil to reach at least a better indication that Pak was listening was a worthwhile accomplishment, at least for now. Next was to keep that mood constant so that it didn’t turn into a bad night for either of them.

The silence following his comment about the deathsticks was a silence he could have done without. A silence like this meant only one thing; the person answering the question was thinking about how much they felt they should tell the asker. Then again, those that denied it too quickly were often trying to end that part of the conversation for the reason of hiding the truth. But he didn’t deny quickly and his silence was long enough to be the former reason. That alone told Shine that Pak had indulged in them, though to what degree or how long ago were answers only Pak could tell him. Taking another sip of his drink, Shine watched Pak calmly as he waited to see what the Balosar would be willing to let slip.

Not to his surprise, Pak’s answer indeed confirmed he was familiar with the use of the substance, though by the sound of it, he’d not used them in recent times. Not for lack of trying however. That tickled a bone in Shine’s body, made him have a tinge of sadness and disgust towards the man….but he quickly made sure that was locked down firmly in his mind. He didn’t show it physically either, he knew how to keep a poker face regarding such things at times. If Pak wanted to use them, far be it for Shine to try and tell him otherwise.

And really, would the man even listen if he did? Shine didn’t know him THAT well and until he possibly did, the point was something to stay away from if he could help it.

”Is that so? Well, don’t go looking too hard for them. It seems to be more trouble then its worth but to each their own. And just to answer a question before it comes up, sorry, I don’t know anyone who’s selling or reputable regarding those sells.”

Pak’s slow but cautious change of direction did not go unnoticed by Shine, though he really only caught it because he was moving to look at that corner again and noticed Pak doing the same. Which was good; that meant the both of them saw the trouble that might be brewing and would hopefully be ready for it should anything come up. Wrinkling his nose, Shine lowered his hand down to lift his glass again, taking a nice slow sip while keeping his eyes focused on Pak…and behind him.

”So Pak, tell me how you acquired your ship. She looks like a tough old bird and there’s almost always a story behind people like us and how we got our wings. I mean, if your willing to talk about it of course. If not, I’m sure there’s something else we can talk about…..like your favorite drink and why perhaps?” He was about to add on something else as he thought of it, after Pak’s replied…when the worst seemed to finally make up its mind.

Movement caught Shine’s eye, movement that he had hoped he wouldn’t see. The group at the table, a nice diverse mix of two Rodians, a Devaronian, a couple of Ubese, a Nikto pair and three humans, the biggest of which having the aura of their leader, had risen from their two respective tables and started marching their way towards the group of Bothans. Shine’s eyes followed them, watching the Rodian’s and Ubese cover the two exits while the Nikto pair and Devaronian moved about into a flanking position. The three humans themselves were the only ones to approach the table, and Shine noticed for the first time that he wasn’t the only one who had noticed them. A fair deal of the Bothans had as well….and those that weren’t watching them with fear were watching them with concern.

”I think its about to get a little lively in here.” Turning to Pak, he nodded to the group, just as the three arrived at the table and unceremoniously seated himself beside them, cracking a wide tooth grin. A wide tooth grin that came from behind the blasters he and his comrades had just pulled out.

”I take that back; it’s about to get VERY lively in here. Hope all that drinking hasn’t messed with your ability to aim….I think we’re gonna need it.”

A shrug passed through Pak’s shoulders as Shine tried to encourage him to stop seeking deathsticks. It was almost funny, coming from a being that had never indulged in them or seen the effects firsthand. Otherwise Shine would know it was almost impossible for an addict to stop. Though, of course, Pak had cut the drugs out of his life when he joined the military, but in a way, he had just replaced one addiction for another. Speed and piloting replaced the deathsticks and hallucinations. Now he had no such barrier, and the alcohol only did so much. But he left it at the shrug; he wasn’t here for an intervention and plus, there didn’t seem a point in replying.

Especially since Shine had apparently chosen to leave the subject alone as well, moving onto a safer topic. A topic that Pak would have no trouble speaking about. His ship was his baby, the love of his life. It was one of the few things in the galaxy that was keeping him from all-out depression or much, much worse. He waved his hand in a gesture of ‘no, it’s okay.’ “Well…” Pak smiled then, a small but genuine one, not the crooked joking grin of earlier. The Balosar moved the hand holding the glass of rum to his mouth, taking a sip, retaining his sideways posture and lean against the bar top. However much he loved talking about the Requiem, though, the method of his acquiring it could lead to more questions that Pak wasn’t sure he wanted to answer quite yet. But if he was careful, he wouldn’t have any worries.

“I had saved up some credits from a former job, found myself way out in the Outer Rim. Came across this small shipyard. I saw something I liked and purchased it. Haven’t had much time to do much modifications, though.” It wasn’t exactly a lie; the military had been a former job, and he had saved up a bunch of credits from his departure. No harm, no foul. He grinned then. “Unless you count the paint job.” It was a risk, bringing the red paint of his ship to the forefront, the reason for it on its heels, but he knew Shine wasn’t completely dumb. Most beings would notice the odd color of the Requiem.

Pak shouldn’t have stressed out about how much he was or was not revealing to Shine about the color of his ship or the manner in which he had purchased her. But of course, he couldn’t see the future. He couldn’t have known that the possible trouble brewing over in the aliens’ table would suddenly bubble over, drawing away his companion’s attention and subsequently his own. That their friendly conversation would be interrupted and forgotten, neither of them thinking about ships anymore.

The Balosar’s antennapalps tingled, and he immediately glanced back over to where they had first been alerted. The beings he had been keeping a vague notice of had moved to confront a table of Bothans. And it didn’t seem to be for a random act of kindness. Unsure where this situation would lead, Pak quickly gulped down the rest of his rum and set his glass on the bar. His earlier smile and jocularity gone, along with some of his drunkenness, his mind began running through possibilities, most of which focused on where the exits of the cantina were relative to his positive. Pak’s blue eyes flicked around, looking for the best escape route.

Shine’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and he looked back at the commotion going on nearby them. Three of the beings, the humans, had pulled their weapons on the Bothans. His companion mentioned the obvious; even a blind being could tell just by the atmosphere that something bad was going to go down and soon. He didn’t need his ‘palps to discern those emotions. The air was fairly sparking with it. Pak was about to agree and suggest they make a run for it when Shine’s last words snapped his eyes back to the other. Blinking, he ran the words by his addled brain once more. Was he suggesting that they would fight these bullies off?

He cleared his throat to get Shine’s attention and then flicked his eyes to his empty holster. Softly, he added to the gesture. “We? Uh, buddy… I’m not packing.” Pak knew he could have said any host of things, including but not limited to calling Shine a slew of Balosar curse words that could be loosely translated politely as variations on ‘insane.’ But seeing the man’s posture and the look in his eyes, he knew it would have been fruitless. Pak would just have to use whatever weapons were available to him. And at the moment, only one came to mind.

Slowly sliding off his stool, he took a couple steps away from where the action was soon to stem from. He glanced around again for the quickest path through the throng of patrons, easy enough in an upscale establishment such as this. Not much chaos was going on here, except for the aforementioned baddies by the table of Bothans. Picking his route, he turned to Shine once more. “Good luck, Albert. I’ll see you outside.” If you survive… Pak throw a salute at Shine and then ran for the nearest exit.



(((I left it open-ended enough, if you want one of the thugs to grab Pak before he escapes... Up to you.)))

Shine had been quite content listening to Pak’s short backstory to where he had found his ship, even if a large portion of him knew the Balosar wasn’t giving him the whole shebang. That was fine as far as Shine was concerned; he was, in essence, still a stranger to Pak and hadn’t reached that level of trustworthiness yet. Maybe one day he would, maybe one day he wouldn’t. Either way, he’d gotten the basics and for now, that would give Shine plenty to work with.

What was amusing to Shine was how much Pak’s story seemed to couple with his own. After he’d chosen to hitch a ride of Corellia rather then be stuck without the ability to fly due to the disaster in his unit, Shine had headed towards planets that he knew would have active shipyards that he might be able to purchase a decent craft from. His wages from the military, along with a small amount his family had given to him upon his exit, wasn’t much but at the time, he would have been happy flying just about anything. Lucky for him, what he’d found was not some second rate junker but a first class beauty in disguise. The Black Cat had taken some work to become that beauty, but she was well worth it in the end.

”That is one heck of a paint job, I’ll give you that. But it sounds like you found your ship the same way I found mine; picked it up for a bargain price from a decent little shipyard with too many ships, not enough business. You can just kind of tell the moment you see the ship that it’s for you, right?”

That, sadly, was as far as that conversation was going to go before the whole stickup raid on the Bothans started. In his mind, Shine was slightly glad it had happened; nothing like a little spice to bring the edge back into a friendly meeting. His hand moved down slowly to rest near his blaster, though he made no motion to draw it. It wasn’t time to draw trouble to himself, not until he found a more favorable position from which to do so. In any case, they would need a plan first before trying anything. They were, after all, grossly outnumbered and as good as Shine was, five to one odds were poor for anyone. Wait, was he considering odds? That was a mistake, Corellians didn’t factor the odds into anything. Only facts and the best possible way to get out of whatever situation they were in, odds be damned.

What he hadn’t accounted for as he processed the scene before him was the possibility that Pak was not armed. Shine winced inside at having overlooked a crucial factor, though it was not something he could not work around. He had a small vibroblade laced into the side of his boot, that could give Pak a weapon. A blaster would be better, but one made the best of these kind of things. Leaning forward a little, he whispered to Pak. ”Lucky for us, I’ve got a few extra surprises on hand. We just need to….”

HE didn’t even get a chance to finish before Pak slowly slid off his seat, his eyes, all of them at that, scanning the room quickly. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was looking for; a way out. And in a place with this much space, with its patrons frozen in fear instead of fleeing in panic, the routes to a safe escape were quite clear. If the men with the weapons didn’t try shooting them when they did. As Pak aimed to make his made dash to escape, Shine noticed one of the men watching turn his gaze towards them, his blaster slowly coming around to aim at Pak. Before Pak could get more then two steps, Shine grabbed him by the sleeve of his coat and swung him back around into an open seat. ”Woah, easy there friend. Looks like you’ve had a bit much to drink…your stumbling outta your seat. Here, take a load off.”

“Hey, where did he think he was going?” the man, one of the Nikto, with the gun said as he approached. At least he spoke in Basic.

”Him? He’s just a little tipsy, that’s all. Don’t worry, he’ll sit nicely and let the liquor bleed off. Carry on with your…well, whatever it is that requires weapons drawn and no questions asked from unruly patrons.” Calmly, cautiously, with Pak covering part of Shine’s body, he slipped Pak his vibroblade and pretended to pat him down into his seat. Whispering, he sighed. ”Sorry mate, but they have the doors covered and though we’ve only just met, I wouldn’t want you getting a blaster bolt for no reason. Now calm down let’s think about how to get this situation in hand.”

“Alright, listen here all of you rich pricks. We have problems with these folks here and if any of ya’ll try to stop us…” the lead said before turning and blasting a patron who’d been trying to flee another way and then someone who lunged at him, “will join them in a permanent nap. So, sit down, be nice and orderly and when we’re done here, we’ll take your goods and be on our way. That includes keys to speeders, wallets, credits, weapons, codes for ships…anything of value.”

Shine hissed into Pak’s ear. ”Here that…they gonna take your ship. Now are we gonna let that happen, hmmm?”

(((All of his eyes? He only has the normal two… ;p)))


Unfortunately, Pak didn’t get very far in his planned escape. He was suddenly jerked back and slammed into an empty chair by a nearby table. Quickly, dozens of scenarios flew through his mind, most involving the gang interrupting the peace of the cantina. But then he looked up and recognized his drinking companion. “What the kriff--” he spurted when he realized it was Shine who had grabbed him, preventing him from leaving. His words were cut off when he also saw the ugly being pointing a blaster at him a nanosecond after that, and he shut his mouth. Self-consciously he swallowed, perhaps a bit too loudly.

From his newly seated position he tried to assess the situation. Not much had changed, though, since before he had tried to make a run for it. The thugs were still at the Bothans’ table, others were spread throughout the cantina, including the one coming towards him and Shine with his gun barrel leading the way. Pak vaguely listened to Shine’s explanation for the Balosar’s movements as he searched his brain for a plan B. Now that his speed was a useless advantage, there wasn’t much he could do, especially with an empty holster. He hadn’t had more than just the basic unarmed combat training way back when and doubted he would last very long against one of these guys without being able to shoot them. He decided his plan would be to just sit quiet, feign Shine’s drunkenness, and hope they didn’t kill him; he had no other choice.

That is, until he felt Shine pressing something into his hand. He had hoped it was a small, spare blaster, but it felt different. Risking a glance down, he saw it was a vibloblade. Pak groaned inwardly. How in space was that supposed to be helpful to him? Not only did he have to be actually near an enemy for it to actually be useful, Pak knew he’d be more likely to cut off his own hand than wound one of the thugs. His blue eyes narrowed and rolled back up to Shine. He wanted to protest about the offered weapon but was interrupted by Shine’s whispered response. Of course, it made sense, though the Balosar didn’t know why this human would bother trying to save him, him who had tried to blast him and his out of the sky a few weeks earlier. But it didn’t matter; he was still alive for the moment, and that was all that he cared about. The past was no longer a factor.

He nodded in response and slipped the ‘blade into his near jacket pocket. Pak let his head roll to the back of the chair, closing his eyes partway. If he was supposed to be the crazy drunk, he might as well start playing the part. Again, his mind ran through different ideas to, as Shine put it, ‘get the situation in hand.’ And still, he had not the foggiest idea of how to do that. He hoped Shine would have a plan, though. Obviously that man was more used to this kind of thing than Pak was. If the Balosar had a choice, he’d just run from a confrontation, whether by way of his own feet or his ship. That kind of response generally kept everyone, from both sides, from getting too bad. But from the look he had seen in Shine’s eyes, Pak knew it wouldn’t be quite that easy, not any more. The man looked as if he wanted to fight these baddies, which in Pak’s mind was completely insane.

His thoughts had to wait, though, as the head thug started speaking and making his intentions known. Pak winced slightly when he heard the whine of a couple blaster bolts and the subsequent thud of a body. In the back of his mind he made a mental note to buy Shine a drink for not letting him come to the same fate. And perhaps to ask him why. He had had a fairly good head start; there was a real possibility the Balosar would have gotten away unscathed. Apparently this little unorthodox meeting was just a fancy robbery; the beings just wanted their valuables. Pak was about to smile—the only thing he had on him were enough credits to bury in some alcoholic drinks for the rest of the evening—until he heard the man mention ships.

Pak sat up, no longer caring if he still looked a bit drunk or not. This crazy thug was threatening to take away his baby. His anger only grew when Shine leaned over and whispered the same thing to him. Of course, he wasn’t gonna let anyone take his ship. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have the codes on him for the Requiem, had them memorized. They would probably just beat it out of him. His ship was his only tie, his only memory to… Pak looked up at Shine, his blue eyes now hard, his antennapalps fairly thrumming with all the emotions running through the room, including his own. “I assume you have a plan, then?” he muttered under his breath to Shine. As much as Pak wanted to just jump these guys, he still had a small part of self-preservation left and was not adverse to still running for it. His thumb found the activation switch for the vibroblade. He’d rather die fighting for her than let any of those lunatics get their grubby hands all over his ship.

The fact that Pak didn’t do anything other then barely mutter a curse and give him a slight stare of understanding was all Shine needed to see to know that Pak had understood that Shine had just saved his life. Considering the fate of the two that tried to do something as well, Shine knew that a second longer in his grabbing of Pak’s would have resulted in his death and Shine didn’t need to have that dumped on his pallet today.

Shine’s eyes never even left the man who was pointing a gun at him, even as he slipped Pak the small vibrosword with ease. It might not have been the best weapon considering the circumstances but it was all Shine had at the moment, save for his own blaster and a spare concussion grenade or two. He had a small assortment of tools and gadgets on hand as well, but nothing that would be of any use in this kind of situation. The blade was the best weapon he had to spare…and used correctly, Pak could find the weapon more useful then either of them thought. Now if only that guy with the gun would come just a little bit closer.

Pretending to feign concern for his drunken comrade, Shine lifted both hands up to show the man he wasn’t intending any trouble, but used Pak’s body to cover the fact that he was armed. Several others in the bar were likely equipped the same, but the fact that none of them had tried anything showed that they understood that something else had to be done first, otherwise this place would turn into swiss cheese with all the blaster bolts that would be flying around it. He caught Pak’s glare about the weapon, shrugged his shoulders in a “what, its all I have on me” kind of way, then turned his attention back to assessing the situation.

The man who appeared to be their leader had turned his attention back to the Bothan group they’d first approached and was huffing something in low tones to the group. The others stood at the ready, watching the crowd for any more signs of trouble. Movement to the right out of the corner of his eye made him glance that way and he noticed the bartender creeping along under the bar, a blaster rifle in hand, though his posture indicated he had no intention of popping out unless he had good reason to. Logical thinking, considering the odds. He also noticed the same man from before keeping his eyes darting back to Shine and Pak, as if he was certain they’d be a source of trouble. He wasn’t wrong in his thinking…

The leader suddenly spat on one of the Bothans at the table, then rose to address his friends and the bar as a whole. “I can’t stand the fact that you people can dine with these pathetic rats. The only thing they’re good for is shining your shoes and they barely do a good job at that. Come on now, start tossing in your belonging when my men come around for them; it’s the first deposit into our funds that will go towards putting Bothans were they belong. In a zoo.”

Shine glared slightly at the man who was starting to go around with a large bag in tow, his mind running through the possible ways to get this party going. The armed members of the room would likely do something if the men were distracted long enough for them to draw their weapons and fire without getting shot down before a bolt could fly. The bartender too would likely join the party and if his count was right, the odds would be more or less evened. But there was too many bystanders around, too many that could get hurt….they needed a way to get them out. As the man drew ever closer, Shine’s eyes turned towards Pak, who at the mention of losing his ship, had come full circle into ending this bunch of wannabe heroes. His mind was a flurry of ideas…until the only idea he had came to mind. He sighed, knowing this would not look good…but all they needed was a solid distraction.

”Alright, I got something. Its not great, but its better then nothing. I hope you’re a good actor, because this is the only way we can get the flurry folks in here into the fight as well. Listen close and listen good.”

Shine whispered his plan into Pak’s ear, which was as basic as it came. Pak, pretending to be the heavily drunk that he was, was to clutch his chest suddenly and fake having a heart attack. His timing would match to when the man got to them and with any luck, it would make him lower his guard as Shine played the part of worried friend. Shine glanced over the room, then gave a slight tip of his head to the concealed bartender, then lightly to a few of the armed Bothans. They all looked at him with a look of confusion, until he made a slight motion with his hand that he knew was universal for action and he calmly mouthed the words “be ready”. With that, he tapped Pak lightly and gave him a light smile.

”Stage is set, let the lead actor take the stage. And pray we can move as fast as we fly.”

He really hoped that Shine came up with an idea, even a half-thought through one, and soon, because at the moment he was beginning to lose any self-preservation he had. The ugly alien with the sack was starting up the gang’s collection. Pak was really ready for a ‘damn it all’ move at the moment. He wasn’t about to let some stupid mindless thugs who thought any being that resembled a nonsentient animal belonged in a cage. In his brief experience with Bothans, they had seemed one of the smarter species, and definitely far more evolved than this group of would-be robbers. Though he would never be a first-class activist, the Balosar had been in the Republic military, had been installed with some sense of equality and freedom. He wouldn’t stand for this. And if he had to, he’d use his little toy knife from Shine.

Luckily right then Shine saved Pak from going on his crazy vibroknife-wielding suicide mission. He leaned down and whispered his plan to the Balosar. While he listened, he kept one eye partially on the man doing the collecting and both his antennapalps as in tune with the surrounding emotional field as he could. Hopefully he’d be able to detect a noticeable change in time. Pak was a little uncertain when Shine mentioned being a good actor, but he was sure he had enough wit and bluster in him to put on a good enough show, whatever it was the human had in mind. If anything else, the Balosar was a pretty confident being, or at least, had been. Back in his military days, the females were almost falling over him; one little line and a smile, and he had a companion well into the morning.

But Shine’s plan was quite a bit different from some not-so-innocent flirting. Apparently the man’s only plan for a distraction, or whatever he was hoping for, was to have Pak fake a cardiac incident. His soft blue eyes widened in surprise, but thankfully he didn’t let any other emotions show on his face. Wouldn’t have just passing out be good enough? He had slumped back down in his chair when Shine began talking, and if they had any luck, it would look like Shine was just trying to calm his drunk companion, explain what was going on. Pak wasn’t quite sure about the idea, but since he had nothing else to offer, he nodded at Shine to show he understood. He had no other choice.

Waiting for the right moment, he let his eyes stare dully into the crowd, not trying to focus on anything, but still keeping tabs on the alien coming around with the collection bag. Again, he really hoped Shine knew what he was up to and that this little plan of his was going to work. He noticed some of the patrons glancing over towards the two of them but higher up; without having to turn his head, Pak knew that Shine must have given them some kind of signal. Signal for what, he didn’t know. It was just his job to play the desperate dying Balosar when the time came.

Seeing the being almost upon them, at the same time feeling Shine tap his shoulder and whisper to him that it was about time to enact their plan, Pak threw up a few prayers and curses. “You’re gonna owe me big after this, Alberts…” he murmured under his breath. To gain some believability, the Balosar groaned when the sack and its holder was in view. And just as the stranger was about to open his mouth, Pak clutched his chest and groaned again, this time more loudly. He jerked out of his chair, at the same time yelling out, “Shen, I’m coming to join you, baby!” And then he let himself fall on the hard cantina floor, making sure to land face down to hide any smiles or giggles that might escape, and quickly plastering a slack look on his face. Now the baton was in Shine’s hands… and the hands of the gang…

Timing was crucial in order for this plan to work effectively and Shine had timed it down to the last microsecond before daring to put his plan into motion. All the pieces were in place, the stage set as best as anyone could hope for and the timing was set for maximum effectiveness. That it also made sure that the plan went down before the man could collect anything from Shine or Pak was merely a coincidence. A planned one at that, but one nonetheless. Everything now came down to luck and any normal person would have told you that the odds were grossly against them. And Shine would simply say what any other Corellian would say; don’t tell me the odds. We make our own luck.

Still, the plan was a massive gamble at its core, no matter how much quick planning Shine put into it. If it went wrong, Shine, Pak and whoever dared to get involved would likely be dead before they hit the ground, with blaster burns still smoking in their chests. But Shine would rather die fighting then hand over the authorization to his ship, the pass for access to the hangar burning in his pocket. If it came right down to it, he’d make sure to take his weight in bodies with him to that silent grave.

But it wasn’t going to come down to that because this plan was going to work gorrammit! Shine turned to Pak, who was uttering something under his breath at him, prompting Shine to smile behind the man’s back to hide it from the approaching collector. ”If we live through this, I’ll see to it I repay the debt.”

Pak’s performance couldn’t have been better timed or acted out if it had been performed by a real actor. Pak made sure to make the right sound, just as the man came into view and would be turning his head to already look at him. Then, before the man could voice a question or a protest, Pak suddenly lurched in pain, grabbed where his heart would be and let out a final cry that was both agony and regret. Then he pitched out of his chair and hit the floor with a dull thud, facedown to hide his facial expressions and to hide the fact that he was still breathing better. Shine, seeing the look of disbelief on the man’s face, mirrored it with his own, twisting in a touch of pain and sadness to complete the effect.

”By the Force Pak! He’s got a weak heart don’tcha know!” The collector was still staring in disbelief and confusion and as Shine glanced up, he noticed the rest of his buddies were turning to look their way. Perfect. The man in charge voiced a question to his man, but before the man could find his tongue to answer, Shine answered for him. ”My friend, he’s having a heart attack! This whole ordeal ‘as been too much for ‘im and his poor heart couldn’t take it anymore. Please, let me get him some help!”

The men looked to one another, debating amongst themselves about what to do about his new situation they found themselves in. The collector had stalked over to Shine and Pak by now, his eyes studying the body carefully. Studying Pak’s anyway, not Shine. Another quick glance around the room showed to Shine that her others in the room had realized the men’s attention had turned from them and slowly, carefully, drew their weapons. Shaking Pak lightly, he leaned down as if to listen for his hear, then whispered into his ear. ”That was perfect…now, when I roll you over to show this man you’re dead, give him an heart attack of his own.” Shine looked up from Pak just as the man came to stand before them, kneeling down to investigate Pak to be sure he was dead.

“Anything can be done about him?” Shine smiled in relief, and slowly started to turn Pak over, giving him time to do what needed to be done. Then he looked the man dead in the eye and his eyes glared into the man.

”Ah, yes there is. You can help me give him some CPR. Just wait till I roll him over and maybe we can kickstart his heart.” With that, he flipped Pak over to show…Pak alive and well and hopefully putting that vibroblade good use. ”Oh, nevermind. He’s all better.” As Pak dealt with him, Shine snapped his fingers to signal the rest…and the room erupted into blasterfire as the men that had been waiting shot into action. The cue was more then enough for the unarmed as well, who ducked down as soon as the light show began. Shine’s blaster was already clear of its holster and as he shot up to roll over behind the bar, he snapped off two quick shots that brought down a man who was a little faster on the uptake then his friends.

Landing in a crouch behind the bar, Shine fired over the top and waited for Pak, who joined him a moment later. ”Hey look; dinner and show. Here.” He handed Pak the dead man’s weapon, then smiled and glanced over the counter. ”Let’s play shoot the bantha/”

Pak had tried to brace his fall with his hands but had mostly failed in that capacity because he had still been clutching at his chest to bring home Shine’s plan. He had landed harder than he would have preferred and had to bite back a groan and wipe the grimace from his face, instead of keeping away the laughter he had thought would have come about. The position he had landed in was extremely uncomfortable, and it took all of his little remaining self-control to keep from moving and rearranging himself. So he lay there, arms folded under him, legs askew, his face turned away from the crowd. And he urged Shine to hurry up with whatever he had planned for this distraction.

Instead of blaster fire, though, all the Balosar heard was his companion’s voice loudly cutting through the air. Pak closed his eyes to avoid being seen rolling them if one of the thugs came over to inspect him. He knew he was no actor, but Shine was just horrible. Hopefully these aliens harassing the Bothans would be low on the intelligence scale and not notice what Pak was distinctly hearing: a completely unbelievable little speech by Shine. But he listened anyway, seeing if he could read between the lines on what the other man was planning on, since obviously he hadn’t planned on taking anyone out when Pak had collapsed, which was the Balosar would have done. No, it sounded as if Shine just wanted to get himself and Pak out of there, leaving the other innocents to fend for themselves. And that was something Pak knew Shine wouldn’t do. He just stayed as still as he could, trying to slow his breathing, waiting to see what the coming minutes revealed about Shine’s true plan, because for the present, Pak couldn’t see it.

He felt a hand on him then and stiffened, thinking it to be one of the would-be robbers. That is, until he heard Shine’s voice close by his ear. The man wanted him to give the being, who Pak assumed was the one with the collection bag, a heart attack? Behind his eye lids, his eyes widened. How in the blast was he supposed to do that? Just jump up and say “boo!” and scare the man to death? The Balosar started racking his brain for an idea, or at least for the idea that Shine seemed to be carrying around, and came up with nothing. Well, this was finally it then. Pak would be joining Shen, just as he had yelled earlier, but this time for real. The thug would realize he was still alive and probably shoot him and then Shine. Oh, well, at least his ship would be safe… collecting dust in a Botawui spaceport…

Shine, or who he assumed was Shine, started rolling him over, and that was when Pak noticed something he had completely forgotten about. The movement had pressed something up against him, and it took him a moment to realize it was the small vibroknife the other man had given him from its hidden perch inside his jacket pocket. And then he knew what he had to do, what Shine’s plan had been all along. Pak wasn’t sure how he was going to go through with it, though. This baddie was sure to have a blaster of some sort along with his collection sack, as well as the rest of the aliens. Even if he had surprise on his side, how could he stick the guy before he got shot in the face, even with Shine covering him?

Knowing he had no other choice in the matter, preferring to go down fighting instead of just getting shot point blank, the Balosar sent up a prayer to whoever might be listening. He moved his hand to the pocket holding the weapon and took a deep breath, no longer bothering to hide his condition from the being he presumed to be standing over him. By the time the robber would have noticed that Pak was actually still alive, he would have seen his eyes snap open, revealing more evidence to support his lack of death. In that brief moment of surprise for the other, Pak moved into a crouch, sliding the knife into a good grip, and shoved the blade all the way to the hilt into the closest thing: the thug’s soft tissue in his outer thigh. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it’d allow Pak to get up and find Shine. And hope someone else would finish off the guy.

Quickly locating Shine’s position by matter of deduction—he hadn’t seen him in the general line of sight—he put his speed to good use and slid behind the bar. Out of the corner of his eye he had noticed some blaster bolts coming from that general area moments before. In the time since he had been rolled over to enact the second part of Shine’s plan, a firefight had broken out in the cantina between the small group of baddies and the patrons who had been armed. Belatedly Pak realized that he had escaped harm during his hasty retreat and momentarily let some relief pass over him before turning his attention back to the present.

With so much going on, so many emotions flying around, the Balosar’s attennapalps were giving a slightly fuzzy feeling, and he tried to shut it all out and just focus on his immediate surroundings. He came to his senses just enough to notice that Shine was handing him a blaster. Pak accepted it with a nod, loving the feel of the weapon in his hand. So much better than that silly vibroknife. It was much preferable to Pak to keep some distance between him and his enemies, which is why he had been so successful as a fighter pilot. No face-to-face encounters for him. Quickly he inspected the weapon, checking the power pack clip with a click and a slam. Then he raised his finger to the trigger and grinned at Shine. "Don’t mind if I do."

His first move was to shoot the man who still had Shine’s knife stuck in his thigh and was laying there moaning, trying to pull it out. He eased up to stick his head above the bar, at the last moment deciding to retract his ‘palps to aid in the surprise and decrease his targetability. Using the bartop to balance, he aimed and popped a couple bolts in the thug’s head, killing him instantly. Pak then made his way to the end of the bar and around it, back into the main room. Near the dead robber, he downed a table to use as a shield. While the bar offered some cover, it was a bit tall and awkward to shoot over. The tabletop would allow him a more comfortable crouching firing position. Once set up, he began carefully shooting around the wooden disk and into the melee, making sure only to get the thugs, not any Bothans.