Shadow of a Shadow (open)

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Three spots open to fill! People are welcome to join up to that point. ^_^

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”I think this is either the best, or worst, idea you’ve had in a long time, you know…” came the voice in her ear. Her little guardian was out of sight for now, but Eressea was never far away. Considering where she was, Aunna couldn’t blame the REA having some second thoughts. While Balosar was a Republic planet, it was also chalk full of crime. The crime itself didn’t concern her, but rather the possibility that someone would recognize her and decide that the Republic’s offer of a small reward for any good information on her whereabouts (or, Force forbid, the full…hefty…bounty for her live capture) would get the better of…anyone.

Still, she’d taken some precautions.

After word had gotten around that people were looking for an auburn with green eyes of her description, Aunna had adapted. With black hair and the contacts gone, leaving her with her piercing blue eyes once more, she had been extra careful to keep as low a profile as possible. It was because of this that she’d lasted a considerable amount of time out of the public eye…and it was because of Kuto and Veera that she was now here on this impoverished planet, just a stone’s throw from home.

Home…What did that even mean any more?

As she walked along one of the dirty streets, she gave the question some serious thought. At one point she’d thought that home was Corellia, where her family was, where she was comfortable and familiar with the culture…because it made her happy to be there, more or less. Then she’d considered the military ‘home’ because she’d been doing what she’d loved, more or less, and while she still considered Corellia her permanent home, just about anywhere she went for work was at least decent because she was comfortable in her skin.

And then there was Vex.

He’d been a thorn in her side, at first, but as time had gone on she’d come to accept him. At first it had only been grudgingly, mainly because he’d saved her life…twice…but it became less and less of a grudging acceptance and he became more and more of a welcome presence. As her world had crumbled down around her, no matter whose fault it had (or hadn’t) been, he’d returned for her…helped her…loved her and even taught her. At one point she’d thought that, maybe, home would be by his side.

Then again, she’d also thought he’d loved her, hadn’t she?

Sighing a little she paused on one of the walk-way corners and looked around, feeling out as best she could in the force as well as using her…more natural…senses to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Admittedly, the weight of all the people around pressed in on her senses like a tormenting rush of emotion and thought didn’t allow her to do much more than stand there, mentally reeling for a moment as she scrambled to block it out again.

It actually almost made her chuckle…If Vex knew, he likely would have laughed and then scolded her for not working harder on her ability to sift through the muck…or…something. Force only knew when that man would ever decide to play nice or be a grouch and…she really needed to stop thinking about him. Sighing again, she looked around again under the pretense of checking the street numbers of the buildings around before moving on. At least she didn’t have to pretend too much…while she was normally good with directions this place was built more like a maze than she would have guessed at first sight and so she found herself paying extra attention to where she was going anyway.

After several minutes of walking after her last pause, she caught sight of the building she’d been looking for. What was odd was the fact that it looked as if it were undergoing some sort of major repairs. That had her on edge until she realized it was just extra scaffolding from the repairs going on with the next building over. Looking at it, she got such an odd sensation that her steps faltered for half a moment.

Why had Vex come to mind so suddenly again?

Shaking her head a little, she pushed the thoughts aside and crossed to the correct side of the thoroughfare and into the darker interior of the bar. She earned a look or two from those nearest the door as she moved past them, her knee length dark green coat earning some minor attention, but considering there were a few within who were dressed considerably more…odd…than herself, she wasn’t terribly concerned. Taking a seat at one of the few empty tables, she positioned herself in a way to keep as much of the establishment (and the door) in her view as possible as she pulled out a datapad and tapped away on it for a moment.

With the arrival of the server droid, she ordered a drink and settled in to wait for her contact.

[Ash]

Balosar: first stop planet within the core worlds, at least for this trip. First chance on this trip from Manaan on this leg for a little bit of rest and recuperation... if all went as planned. Would Bit be able to get what he wanted, he had no idea. They way things seemed to be going for him... probably not.

Cyn Rook, better known as Bit, was resting against the side of a building, acting like he was enjoying the sights. In all actually, he was taking a short break, his still fresh gunshot wound in his side burning. He could have went on, but what was the point of that.

After a few minutes, Bit resumed his steady stroll towards a cantina he had scouted out earlier in the day: something quiet and out of the way where he would be able to sit back and relax. Hopefully he wont get loud and obnoxious with heavy drinking.

It didn't take long for the man to reach his chosen establishment, with all its gloominess. He walked in, his nicer looking black button shirt and grey pants standing out here... perhaps he should have opted for his normal clothing, but he wanted the looser shirt... for more than one reason.

The man took a seat at the bar, rolling his shoulders forward slightly. When the bartender came over, he asked for his corellian ale, like always. He checked over his shoulders while waiting for his beer, getting a look for where people where: he also noted a woman sitting all alone. He let his eyes linger on her for a moment longer than he should have, before pulling them away. She was a mark for drunks, if any got too rowdy. He received his drink, paid, and proceed to suck down the liquid. His drinking, if he wasn't careful, could get out of hand fast.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Little by little she was working with her senses in the force, ‘reaching’ out cautiously to get a feel for the area around her. Every time she did, however, it always ended up the same…something very similar to sensory overload. Nothing ever made any sense to her, it was all just a jumble of…everything…that threatened to give her a headache if she wasn’t careful, so she would always swiftly withdraw into herself again, focusing instead on keeping everything out. Still, there were times when it wasn’t so bad, especially if she was looking directly at someone.

There was one man who’d walked in not but a ten minutes after her that she’d experienced this with…though she still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the information she got. Her senses had already been tentatively extended when she’d looked up over her glass as he’d walked in. It seemed as if her focus on the new entry had brought her extra-sensory awareness in to fix on him as well since she got a taste of side pain and a confusing conglomeration of Force only knew what…but through it all, she was quite certain it came mainly from him and not the others in the bar. This certainty, of course, only confused her further. Pulling her eyes away, she mentally cloistered herself again, returning her reading glasses to her face before going back to her datapad and the conversation she was having with Eressea over it as the newest reply popped up.

It wasn’t long, however, until she felt someone looking at her. Glancing up, she caught the man turning back around. While the feeling lessened, it still wasn’t gone. Studying the room quietly, she lifted a brow at two men smirking lecherously in her direction and talking amongst themselves. Sighing to herself, she simply shook her head and returned to her datapad once more.

’I have no idea, Eres. Just keep an eye out for him from where you are.’

’Of course…I’m just concerned. He’s running late, and that doesn’t sit well with me. He could be up to no good.’

’I really doubt th—‘

“Hey there pretty lady. What’s a nice li’l thing like you doin’ in a place like this?”

Sighing again, Aunna temporarily left her reply unfinished, clicking the datapad screen off as she folded her hands over the top of it in a show of tenuous tolerance. Looking up at the man who’d spoken to her from over the tops of her glasses, she arched one brow slightly. ”Well, like most everyone else in this place, I’m having a drink…obviously.” The statement was said with such a dry sense of simplicity that it settled nicely between utter honesty and scathing sarcasm.

The man, drunk as he was, didn’t quite seem to know what to do with the reply she gave him…standing there like the idiot he most likely was for several long moments trying to figure it out.

[Ash]

A cigarette appeared in Bits hand, and in his other, a lighter. Together, they brought a small shed of joy to him as he lit up and took a drag, savoring the smoke in his lungs, before he exhaled, spilling the smoke out in a steady stream.

From behind him, he heard some voices and snickering, apparently for the woman who was tap-tapping away on her datapad. He checked his watch, noting the time, and waited for when some drunk would walk up to her. It wasn't a long wait: only about a minute and a half. Bit smiled to himself at the time. The man stood up, stretched, then walked over to the woman's table, where the drunk was.

Hey, your buddy wants to buy you more drinks. He just told me. He said you need to hurry back though.

At the sound of more alcohol, the drunk perked up, spun around, nearly fell, and stumbled off. Bit laughed, went back for his drink, then sat down at the table where the woman was sitting.

Hope you don't mind me joining ya. May keep more drunks away. hehe.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Hey, your buddy wants to buy you more drinks….”

The new arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed by the woman sitting, almost placidly, at her table. In fact, piercing blue eyes flickered from the drunk to the newcomer (the man she’d noticed earlier, it seemed) and back again. For half a moment, however, Aunna just couldn’t help but wonder what it was about her that brought these situations around. Maybe is was just the fact that she had breasts…that, at least, was a better thought than the one that seemed more likely these days: she had a cosmic “Kick Me” sign posted on her back.

“…He just told me. He said you need to hurry back though.”

The man (the drunk one, that is) seemed to immediately lose all interest in her at that point, stumbling all over himself as he attempted to hurry back to his friend. She sighed. This, friends, was why they made alcoholic recovery groups. Shaking her head a bit, Aunna was a little pleased when the newcomer headed back to the bar. The less people she spoke to around here, the better it would likely be for her in the long run. Certainly there would be less opportunities for her to put her foot in her mouth somehow if she avoided such things. Besides, she was here for a reason…and that wasn’t to socialize.

Unfortunately, like so many times before, the Force didn’t seem to see eye-to-eye with her on her desires.

The man came back, plopping down in a seat across from her.

’Force help me…not this again. Okay, that’s it, no more bars or cantinas for me. Ever.’ That thought had her biting back a sigh as she shook her head a little and then looked over at the man as he spoke. From the time she’d met Vex on Coruscant in a cantina, these places had been nothing but trouble for her. Well, they’d been trouble for her before then, but never quite like the sort of trouble she found in them afterward. Dark jedi saving her from drunks, sith stabbing her with lightsabers, being kidnapped and dragged into a cantina just to have her life torn apart shortly afterward, running into her abusive (and murderous) Ex and nearly caught by the Republic or dragged off to be a hutt slave….yes, she really just needed to avoid these places like the plague.

”I can handle a few drunks, thanks, just so long as they’re not force users,” came the easy reply as she finished her reply to Eressea.

[Ash]

I'm sure you could, but a little extra help wouldn't hurt either, I bet.

He smiled at the woman, nothing perverted or expecting, but something more akin to that of a friend to a friend. After that, he looked away checking out one of the view screens. On it was some sort of alien game he had no chance of getting.

He wasn't really watching it, though: his eyes were unfocused as he was lost in thoughts. Even if it was only for a moment, he let his mind touch his past, but for what reason, he didn't really know. He was better off going into a casino for entertainment, and to cantina's for women.

He wasn't, however here to pick up on women. He was here mainly to pass a little bit of time and relax his shoulder. It was noticeably stiff, and he didn't move it around too much. After a moment, he let his eyes drift back into focus. He took a sideways glance at the woman before him.

Don't know if you care or not, but the name's Bit.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have company whether she wanted it or not, Aunna sat back in her seat and fixed the man with a steady gaze. His smile earned a partial one in return…there was something familiar about the way this man felt and she wasn’t certain if that was a good thing or not. For a moment she tilted her head at him, almost curiously, her black hair sweeping to the side gently with the motion. Again she got the feeling that there was something…but what?

As he looked back at her from the screen he’d been…staring…at and introduced himself, she nodded and smiled just a little more. ”Raelyn. Nice to meet you,” she supposed. ”Bit….that’s an odd name. Is it a nickname?”

On the other side of the hidden mic, Eressea wondered just who her partner was talking to. She couldn’t make out the conversation itself since the mic only picked up Aunna’s voice, but she could do a little searching. Maybe something would come up on the man…but then again, with a name like ‘Bit’…that was a stretch.

[Ash]

Bit's an odd name? I suppose it is. It is a nicknamed I earned some years ago. Pretty... whats a good word... interesting... story behind it as well.

Bit let his eyes cross the woman one... then again, as he looked around the bar. She was giving him a curious look, as if here was a wee bit of recognition that she saw in him. Bit could say never never seen this woman before, unless it was sometime in the past, and he was too drunk to remember. That was always a possibility.

The man didn't really have much to question about, unless he wanted to seem like some sort of pesky, odd dude... which he was always looking like, sitting down at a table with some woman he didn't even know. Still, if she had any questions for him, she was free to fire away. May make for some interesting conversation. He set his face in a way that pretty much said just that.

[Juzt]

It was time to move on, at least for now. Nine years on Nar Shadaa had been a good run, he had never intended to stay that long, but his successes there had ensured that his services were in demand . Of course jealousy was always a hazard, eventually other hunters and mercs would want him out of the picture. While Simo regarded most of them as buffoons the shear numbers of them would catch up with him eventually. Best to try and establish himself else where, he could always return when his face had partly been forgotten. Hutt space was now dangerous for him, and he was suspicious of going near the Mandalorian or Sith territories. So the Republic it was. Hopefully his desertion from the Republic had long ago been forgotten, and Balosar was a relatively uncared for system, in which someone of Simo's skill and inclinations could succeed. Simo started how he always had done, looking in on the local cantina's and bars, the more disreputable looking the better. This particular one looked very disreputable, a smoky hot atmosphere was pervaded by heated chatter, bawdy laughter and a smell that was repugnant even to a Rodian.

It was a great place to start, jobs were found in these places some drunk always wanted someone removing and from there you could work your way up to the more important figures in crime on this planet. Simo carefully took his seat at the bar, the serving droid waddled up to him. “Drink Sir?” Simo made his selection speaking in a monotone Rodese, he did not really want a drink but in these places it was part of the uniform. The Rodian took a few sips of the foul weak tasting drink, his face remaining impassive as he absent mindedly traced the darker green lines on his skin of his tattoos, and remembered fondly for a moment his time with Tisha's gang back on Rodia. The only person he had ever truly respected, or even come close to liking. Simo surveyed the bar carefully, his multifaceted eyes taking in every aspect he could. He noticed the girl at the other side of the bar, he had seen her earlier dealing very expertly with a drunk making advances. She seemed now to be deep in conversation with another man. Simo was not sure why but he thought it would be good to keep an eye on them.

“Heeeeeeeey you, yesh you greeny! This is my space.” Simo regarded the object loudly remonstrating with him. A drunk balding human, he seemed angry. The fact that his face was twisted and distorted and red was a clue. “Oh is it?” said Simo in a slightly bored sounding tone. Luckily the Human understood him, as Simo hated speaking Basic. “Yesh, bloody Rodians!” he slurred. People were now staring, craning their necks interested, exactly what Simo did not want. “Rodians are all worthless scum!” shouted the human.

“Really? How fascinating.” Simo yawned, the human seemed to get more angry at the fact Simo was ignoring his taunts. “Did you not hear what I said?!”

“Yes I would have been hard pressed not to have heard it”

The man seemed panicked he was expecting a punch thrown or something, but this Rodian sat there infuriatingly indifferent. He was spoiling for a fight and not getting it.

“I am not taking it back.” He said cautiously wondering why the Rodian would not try to get the first blow in.

“That is good stick to your guns.” Said Simo amiably. A few of the patrons laughed, this made the human finally snap. Fine he was going to get the first punch in. “Don’t make fun of me!” he screamed and raised his fist. He was so drunk that he stumbled forward, Simo easily darted round his fist and using the human's momentum against him smashed his head into the bar. He dropped unconscious. Simo sighed and sat back down. “What a bother.” He said quietly to himself.