Ballad of Fallen Angels (Semi-open. PM to Join)

[Ash]

Bit was awoken by a beeping from his forward console, shocking the man and having him drop out of his seat before he finally hit the button muting the console. Getting back into his chair, Bit looked at a screen to his left: just shy of 10 minutes from leaving hyperspace. Yawning, he went to the bathroom, washing his face and relieving himself. Feeling better, he began to activate some of the stations, such as communications, as he began to get ready to exit hyperspace.

Three minutes later, he was in real-space, heading towards the floating blue planet of Manaan. He got his clearance to land Ahto City. He landed about an hour later in one of the ports large enough to accompany his yacht.

Paying his toll to the groundman, and asked him to unload his ships cargo, he left towards the center of the city, where the fun would be. He stopped and window shopped on the way though, checking out some of the blasters they had for sale. This cargo he had, once he got his payment, he would be that much richer, and maybe he would get himself a new blaster, something a little stronger than what he was currently packing.

A grin on his face, Bit made his way to a Cantina he knew was famous for its swoop races. That, and some alcohol, would be enough for him to waste some time until later in the local evening. Taking a seat at a booth, he used the table controls to order a nice Corellian Ale, and wand proceeded to enjoy the views.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Varulla'aba stood in the edge of a crowded cantina and sighed deeply. This was not where she'd imagined herself upon coming to Manaan. She'd assumed maybe she would be the one ordering the drinks, and wearing some respectable outfit. Instead, she was wearing a skirt cut too short for her ease of mind, and a ridiculous shirt with a logo on it that left part of her stomach visible, the pale skin standing out all the more against the black clothes.

At least it was black, and not magenta. Small blessings.

Still, the pale Twi'lek woman had expected to be the one having food delivered to her, not the waitress bringing it. And the most damnable thing was the attitude they demanded of employees. Always a smile! Greet the customer! Make them feel valued! Thank them for choosing Hayalooga's Cantina! It was enough to make her gag. All this incessant friendliness to total strangers...

Var placed a Corellian ale on a tray and walked it out to the designated table, stopping in front of the occupant and setting the drink down, pulling out a datapad used to take orders. She wore a wooden smile that was incredibly unconvincing, and her eyes had the same sharp glare as they so often did.

"Welcome to Hayalooga's Cantina, here's your drink, may I take your order?"

Var's silky voice held obvious disinterest and bordered on exasperation. This night was never going to end. She was never going to make it back to the apartment, and even then she'd have to take care of Eleanor before she crawled into bed and slept.

Of course she had no idea what Donnie was up to either. Probably couldn't count on her for company.

[Ash]

A swoop racer just begun run when the waitress walked up bringing his drink. He saw her, looked away for a moment, then did a double take. He didn't mean to, but seeing a pale, almost white Twi'lek was, to him, about as rare as seeing a red or blue skinned one. He put on a rather warm smile.

This woman seemed like she really, really hated her job. If Bit was a woman and had to wear those clothes, he would be as well. Her voice held a detached sound to it, and maybe some boredom? Her eyes, though, glared at him. That hurt, but he wasn't one to flinch away from the fire this woman held.

"Um... How about a nice BBQ pulled pork sandwhich? That sounds pretty good, you agree?"

Bit was trying to remain nice and respectful, but he would get loud and obnoxious when he had a few drinks in his system. He would try to contain himself, but it would only go so far. He flashed a white, toothy smile at the waitress as she left.

As soon as she was, he checked his commlink, which was buzzing silently in his pocket. He checked it, getting a message that his cargo was picked up. With a smile, Bit replied with a time he would be back to the bay to collect his money. He had some hours to spend, so he would sit here, snack, drink, and watch the races.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"Pulled pork. Right." The alabaster Twi'lek, surprisingly, didn't ignore the smile he gave her. Instead she smiled back sardonically.

Var jotted the order down with a stylus and turned to go deal with her other tables, adding a few orders to the datapad, which in turn relayed them to the kitchen.

While the food was anything but good, their cooks were fast. That might have just been because everything was pre-made from a box though. Or frozen. And it seemed like everything was fried to some degree or other. Maybe that sandwich would be fried as well.

The smell of grease in the air was pervasive, so much so that when Var returned home she had the uncanny feeling Donnie would feel cravings for fast food. Of course she'd continued to plump up. so Var had every intention of keeping her well clear of the crap they served at this cantina. And other places like it.

Of course while she was working she had no idea what Donnie was actually-

"Hey! Dia! Get the food out!" The obese cook yelled at her as he held platters in both arms.

It was taking Var quite some time to get used to the alias she had selected. Dia'amersu was quite different from Varulla'aba. But, that was kind of the point. She was a fugitive from the Republic, and a deserter from the Sith.

"Right." Var glared and took the trays of food, carrying them out onto the floor, making her way from table to table until she stopped at the human man's table and set down the sandwich in front of him.

"Enjoy your eight credit mistake."

[Ash]

Bit was among the people who cheered loudly as the current racer beat the best time of the day. Bit threw down his ale like it was nothing, slamming down his empty cup as he finished, and took a deep breath.

Before Var made her way back to his table, he took out a Cigarette and lit it up, taking a nice, long draw from it and savoring the smoke in his lungs, before expelling the smoke in a nice, long trail. His mind was already starting to buzz with just his single, tall drink, and he was ready for more. He grinned, cigarette in his mouth, as his food was brought to him.

"Thanks for my mistake. Mind hitting me up with another one of these? Oh, how about a side of Nacho's as well? With some extra cheese. Thanks again."

Bit chuckled lightly, and pulled his food in front of himself. He sprinkled some salt and pepper on his food, then dug in. He had worst, and had little trouble eating it. He took his time with it, watching the next race as he ate and waited for his ale. This racer beat out the last one, but just barely. It made him almost wanna race, but he would stick to his starfighters.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var jotted down the next orders as she glanced in a bored fashion at the screen. Donnie had gotten her learning about swoop racing, and this one was an odd race. Normally they were just heats, but here everyone was on the track at the same time. Denara and Jeli were jockeying for the lead, both good local racers.

The Manaan circuit was the best in the galaxy, possibly rivaled by the network in Hutt Space. In fact, if the water world had a claim to fame besides Kolto, it would be swoop racing. Some of the races were broadcast over the holonet. Others, like this, were kept more local. This one was happening live out over the water.

Jeli pulled ahead by a hair as they were entering a turn, but like a bolt of lightning a yellow swoop slid in a tight turn and overtook the lead, darting in to first place. Denara won.

Good racer, if Donnie knew anything about races. And she sure did.

The slender Twi'lek woman crossed back again with the human's alcoholic beverage and placed it down on the table, heading off on her rounds once more.

By the time she made it back with the nachos, the man seemed a little... Pickled would be an overstatement. Sober would be an understatement. He was a little tipsy? Slightly inebriated.

Var set down the platter and looked him in the eye.

"Anything else?"

[Ash]

Bit was whooping as the racers passed each other up, and they had a winner. He barely noticed when his ale came, and didn't get a chance to thank the pale woman, but he would be able too when she continued on his rounds.

He finished his sandwich, and was sipping on his ale when they started the next circuit. These races were more interesting, more competitive than he was use to, and he liked it. Maybe it was just the alcohol speaking. He didn't care. He finished off his current cigarette, and took another sip of his Ale.

Var showed up a short time later, bringing his nacho's. Bit now had a really stupid smile on his face. He wasn't too hungry, but these would hit the spot nicely. He went to reach for the waitress for some odd reason, but pulled his hand back and ran it through his dark hair instead, trying to look casual. He stood up, stretching his legs, and took off his black jacket.

"How about your name, Angel? I'm sure you don't want me calling you that for the entire time i'm here."

Who knows what that simple question and statement could have led too. Most likely it would have been a slap, which was usual for Bit.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var folded her arms and gave an expression that was very clear the second she was called 'angel.'

In the first place, Var was no angel. More like a fallen angel. If he knew even a tenth of what she'd done, he wouldn't be saying that. Her past was as checkered as a racing flag. Apart from that, it was just insulting and patronizing. Stick a woman in a short skirt and show her belly, and suddenly she's free game for every drunken lout to hit on.

Clearly he wasn't getting the message her eyes were sending, namely 'I have no interest in you whatsoever, leave me alone or I shall gouge our your eyeball with a plastic spork.'

Var glared harder.

"Read the name tag lover boy, it says Dia. Also, don't call me angel. Ever."

Her voice was at its best, beautifully sardonic and sarcastic, the cutting voice of cynicism, but blessed with a silky and melodious quality. It was clear she usually got away with being less than friendly.

[Ash]

Bit reached down, grabbing his ale and downed what was left of it, then set his glass down. He checked the race screen, making sure there wasn't a race on yet, then turned to Var, looking her over again.

"Easy there, Dia. Just trying to get you to lighten up a bit. You're too serious."

Bit slipped around Var, placing his body close behind her; his body touching hers. One hand, he reached up and stroked her cheek. His other one ran down her side, heading for her inner thigh. Smiling slightly, he brought his voice down to a low whisper.

"How about I help you when you get off of shift, Angel"

Bit would never do anything like this if he was sober. Yea, he was a womanizer, but this was going overboard. But he wasn't done yet. He was barely connected to her for two seconds before he slid around, his left hand, which was up by her cheek falling down, and got a good grab of her ass before he twisted back towards his seat.

"And another drink, please Dia?"

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var froze. There was no other word for the complete ceasing of her activities. In fact, she didn't even breathe as it happened. This man violated her personal space, then with one hand he touched her cheek, which was bad enough, and with the other her touched the inside of her thigh, which was much, much worse.

The final straw was when he grabbed her ass.

No one had ever done that before. Certainly no one had done it a second time, and for very simple reasons. If anyone had ever tried it a second time, they would have found themselves missing an arm, or fried on the floor like a burnt scrambled egg.

Drunk man hadn't received the memo.

And he had propositioned her, though the words were lost in her ear cones and didn't quite sink in for another second. When they did, the natural impulse was to pull out a lightsaber and lop his arm off. However, she was missing a lightsaber. Also, Manaan strictly prohibited violence. She had to settle for something less severe.

With an icy glare worthy of her chosen Twi'lek alias, which translated to 'solid ice,' Var reached out swiftly, and in a single motion pulled out the man's waistband, and dumped the platter of very hot nachos down his pants. Then she slapped him in the face as hard as she could.

As the final piece of her performance she wordlessly left the room, grabbing her jacket and heading straight out through the doors of the cantina, and going on a long, long walk.

[Ash]

Bit was dumbstruck as the waitress, almost nonchalantly, grabbed his nachos, pulled the waistband of his pants, and dumped the nacho's down his pants. He didn't even feel the heat of it compared to him being stunned.

He was knocked back into himself by the almost iconic slap across the face. Before he said anything, or made any sound, the woman turned on her heel, grabbing a jacket, and wordlessly left the cantina.

The entire place was dead quiet; even the vidscreens seemed to be muted. Bit was wordless for a few moments, then pulled out a credit stick.

"Alright folks, next round on me!"

Everyone cheered and went back to what they were doing. Bit, without swaying or stumbling, went to the bar, where he tossed the entire credit stick at the bartender.

"Get them all a round, and give the rest to that waitress, from me. There should be enough on there to cover it."

Before getting a reply, Bit left the cantina, retracing his steps to where Archangel was set. It took him about 15 minutes of light pedestrian walkways to get to his ship. He showered, changed, and left in about 20 minutes, heading for a walk to waste the rest of his time before meeting at the designated landing pad.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var slowed her pace after she had left the cantina far behind. The pale young woman stopped at the very edge of Ahto City and leaned against a guard rail, looking out at the endless waves of the sea. It was like looking onto infinity, seeing the sun going down over the horizon.

Soon it would be dark on the water, and the various night lights of the city were already powering on. But nevertheless, Var stayed and waited, watching the sun sink below the waves before she finally turned to head home to the apartment.

Her green eyes were focused mostly on the floor beneath her as she made her way back from the edge of the city to the denser interior. It was less desirable to be away from the water, and as such the housing was cheaper. Still, Var wished she could just live on the edge of the ocean, in a place with windows and sea-views.

Instead, well, she was now an ex-waitress who needed a new job, on the run from the Sith and the Republic, just trying to live a normal life. Of course with her track record of failures, she'd be lucky to achieve her goal of a normal life at all.

The slender Twi'lek sighed and pulled her headtails over her shoulders before walking down a deserted street towards home. Or what passed for it.

[Ash]

As twilight began to descend upon the floating city, Bit made his way towards the, more or less, rundown section of spaceport near the residential district. It wasn't really rundown as unused, as this section of landing pads weren't used due to the close proximity to the locals.

Bit pulled his unzipped jacket closed, then zipped it halfway up. He wasn't use to the chillier air on Manaan, that, or maybe he was just imagining it. Who knows; all he knew was that he was out of a good mood now that he was sobering up.

Forcing his mind ahead, he walked into one of the bays, R-43, which was occupied by a freighter, and a handful of people... All of them were armed with pistols or rifles, and at least two, he saw, had a sword. Bit sniffed and walked in without a second thought.

"Bit, my boy; you did a good job."[/color]

Bit turned to his right at the sound of the voice, and he saw a tall, slender man standing on a balcony over-watching this landing pad. The Epicanthix stood all alone, a sword nearly as long as he was strapped to his back.

"Yun, I brought you your goods, so how about my reward? I traveled around the galaxy and went through half a dozen planets to get you watch you wanted, and frankly, I have other things to do than sit around."

"Reward? Oh yea. I almost forgot. Here it is."

From behind his back, where his hands were hidden, the man on the balcony, Yun, brought forth a snubnosed carbine, and opened fire on Bit, more than two stories below, with a hailfire of blasterbolts.

By then, Bit had dived behind a cargo crate, which he used as cover. He dug out his own pistol, and shot the only two muscle he had in his view. They dropped before they got off a shot: showing they were either new to this, or were unprepared for this attack.

Bit jumped cover to one of their bodies, nearly getting shot in the process, and grabbed the fallen pistol. Armed with two weapons, his aim would be off more than usual, but he could get out more power at once.

Peaking from the side of a crate, Bit looked for a target, but he didn't find one: instead, one found him. From behind, an aqualish thug came up with a vibrosword, nearly succeeding in sneaking up on Bit. His footsteps set him out. All that the thug gave Bit was a nasty slice on his cheek, and again on his upper left arm. With a yell, Bit headbutted the thug, then blew his face off with a point blank shot.

Bit didn't worry about his wounds, and started to make his way to the exit. He didn't notice that Yun was on the ground floor. The man used his remaining three hired muscle to pin Bit down behind his own cover.

When Bit jumped cover, he told a round to his gut, which somehow, while very painful, was only a ricochet, and was only about an inch in his gut. Bit didn't know that, nor care, as he only felt the pain. Through sheer willpower, Bit got from his knees and too his feet. His vision dimmed as he did, but he used a crate to steady himself as he stood up. He pealed around it, firing with both blasters. The thugs thought they had killed Bit, who took them out while they were celebrating.

It was then that he felt a horrible pain in his left shoulder. He looked, and saw a long sword protruding from it. He yelled in pain as it twisted around, and felt his feet leave the ground for an instant, before it was quickly yanked out. Bit fell to his knees, his borrowed pistol clattering away, and his falling under him.

"Now, here's your bonus."

Distant sirens came to Bit's ears, and he used that moment to let his arm collapse. He landed on his gut, his right hand gripping his pistol, and rolled aside, bring it up and shooting Yun in the chest. He gasped, stumbled back, then turned and sprinted to his shuttle.

With another act of willpower, Bit forced himself to his feet, and half walked/half stumbled out of the landing bay, and towards the residential area. His communicator was shattered in his pocket when he was shot, and was now useless.

Faster than he thought, Bit made it to the residential area. Back the way he came, Bit heard the sirens, and knew he could get in some serious trouble if he was caught. Walking to one of the doors, he pounded on it, but got no answer in return. He tried again, but his strength failed him. His vision flickered, then nearly went out.

The world seemed to drop away. The door in front of him seemed to float backwards, as if being pulled back by a tunnel. After that, he felt weightless, and a sharp pain at the back of his head. The final thing: darkness as he passed out.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var pulled out her passkey as she turned the corner before the apartment, and she held it loosely in her hand when she came to a stop a few feet shy of her door. Lying face down on the ground was a body, which was not exactly a common sight on Manaan.

She tentatively reached to the neck and felt a pulse. He was alive.

The Twi'lek woman glanced in either direction and wondered just how bad this could be for her. Luckily no one had seen, which left her with a choice. Either she could call the medics, or deal with him herself. There were pros and cons to both.

If she called the Ahto City Police or the medics, then the man would receive proper attention. Scrutiny, however, would fall on her, and the fact her identification was false might have come to light. At worst, she could be a suspect, and if they knew she was an escaped fugitive... She couldn't risk that course.

Another idea. She could throw him over the side into the ocean. But that would require smuggling him through crowded areas.

No, there was only one option.

Var keyed open the door and dragged the wounded man inside, grimacing over the idea of blood staining the floor. She did peek over her shoulder and spot the floor he'd been lying on, and a small puddle of blood. As soon as the man was lying on the couch, she darted back out and mopped it up, leaving behind no visible trace.

Only then did she bother to flip over the wounded man. Her reaction was immediate.

"You have got to be joking."

Var rubbed her temples. Why was the universe doing this to her? Why was it that this person just had to be the exact one who had ruined her day, and cost her a job at that! For a long moment she considered letting him die and disposing of his body one piece at a time.

As delicious as that proposal seemed, it was complicated. So, with a sigh, the pale woman went to fetch the medical kit she kept on a wall, and began her work.

Antiseptics cleaned the wound, then she started work with emergency sutures she'd never used before, ultimately resulting in the shoulder wound being closed by a rather crooked and disreputable-to-behold line of stitches.

The stomach wound was only light, a piece of lead embedded a few centimeters in. Var pulled it out with her fingers, then bandaged the hole.

All in all, the process took up far more of her evening than she'd planned on. When she was done, she washed her hands and curled up in an armchair, her lugs tucked under her, watching the wounded man with a look of distaste.

He just seemed to love ruining peoples' days.

[Ash]

Thump: ow... Thump: ow... Thump: ow...

Bit's consciousness became somewhat active slowly, how soon after he passed out he didn't quite know. Everytime he felt his heartbeat, his stomach, cheek, and, most of all, his shoulder, pained him and seemed to zap whatever strength he was starting to get back.

Despite the dull throb, a old memory resurfaced: that of Kusak, an old Trandoshan he use to work with. He watched him die once again, which was rather unusual, but there was nothing he could do, especially in this memory/dream. Back in the real world, Bit groaned slightly, shifting a little on the couch.

Next came a mission when he was a little older, and working with the Exchange. Him and two other teammates were running down a long hall, them being shot at. Ahead of them, the airlock doors were closing. Bit and his male companion, John, made it to safety. Sara, the female on their team, and Bit's lover at the time, didn't. The door's closed just before she made it.

"NO!"

Bit rocketed forward, his right arm extended as he tried to grab at the memory. He collapsed back down, a hiss of pain coming from his lips. Tears of pain came to the man's eyes, but behind them were the tears of sadness of remembering that memory. Slowly he opened his eyes.

He glanced around the room, until he hit the chair. There, the same pale skinned Twi'lek woman sat: Her green eyes glared at him with a look of distaste. Bit chuckled lightly, pain seeping through again.

"Well this is interesting. I think I will just be leaving..."

Bit made it up to a sitting position before he realized that took all his strength.

"... Or not..."

Bit avoided the woman's emerald eyes, his own golden-brown inspecting the bandages on his stomach. His next words were quiet.

"I'm sorry..."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

The human bolted upright and issued forth a yell that would have disturbed neighbors if the walls weren't so thick. Then he promptly pronounced he was leaving. Var's facial expression didn't change and she kept eye contact on him until he made his next statement.

Well, statements.

He apologized, which Var was debating penalizing him for. If you were going to be a lout, then at least be a steadfast lout. She wasn't exactly inclined to believe he was sorry, though he was quiet enough to be. It felt kind of half assed to her.

But it was better than nothing. Barely.

Var gave a quick nod and looked away at the wall clock.

"You had a big hole in your shoulder. You should go get formal surgery soon, otherwise it might heal poorly and weaken your muscles. Your stomach should be fine. I think someone wanted you dead just as much as I did. Incidentally, we are all out of painkillers."

The Twi'lek woman smiled sardonically, a cruel little grin that made it quite clear there were in fact painkillers. Not that her patient was in any position to find them.

[Ash]

Bit chuckled quietly as he felt the muscle around his shoulder. He both felt and saw a bandage, which was good. He moved that arm a little, feeling a tugging of his skin under a layer of fresh pain.

He found it almost comic: a woman, who he had, he was sure of it, hurt badly, and probably ruined her life with his little act earlier that night, had patched him up. He had worst wounds before, and, if he got some bacta within the week, which wouldn't be too hard, as he had a nice tank on his ship.

"Thanks for the patch-up, but I won't be heading to any hospital. I just need to rest for a while. And call me Bit, rather than 'You.'"

He lend out a real, warmer smile, to counter Var's sardonic one. The least he could do was be nice to this woman, despite how she would act to him. He broke eye contact with her moments later, inspecting his bandages closer. There weren't the best, but they seemed to be better than that of an amateur.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var pulled her legs out from under her slender frame and walked across the room to the kitchen unit where she kept food and beverages. While there, she pulled out two glasses and filled them both with water, delivering one to Bit before she returned to her chair.

"OK. Bit. You're an idiot. You should go to a hospital and get it treated. I don't plan on letting you sleep around my place for two weeks while you get better. I don't like you, and I'd rather not see much of you. I don't have the time to baby you."

Var's voice was stern, but her gaze had become less severe, and her voice less sardonic and sarcastic. It was obvious now that she was tired, awfully tired. It had been a long day on her feet, and now it had just gotten longer.

[Ash]

Bit watched as the pale woman unfolded her legs and took a short walk to where he assumed the kitchen area. With a shallow grunt, Bit twisted on the couch, putting himself in a normal sitting position. When the Twi'lek returned with two glasses of water, which one she handed to Bit. He took it thankfully.

Thanks.

He took a drink of the water, only then realizing how dehydrated he was. He finished most of the glass before Var even had a chance to sit down. When she spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle a little at her opening words. Throughout the rest of it, he remained respectfully silent.

"Ok, so I'm an idiot, and you are tired. Don't worry; you won't need to see me for more than a day or two, then I will be gone. Now, not i'm not telling to anything, but I recommend that we both get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning."

Downing the rest of his water, he shifted over to one side of the couch, and set his now empty glass on the table. He took a deep breath in, expelling it in the form of a yawn, and set his eyes on Var, trying to judge her next move based on her reactions to his words: he only spoke the truth here.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var took 'we can talk more in the morning' to the extreme and simply rose from her chair, crossed the room, flipped off the light switch and went back to her bedroom without a word, leaving the human man behind to stew in the dark.

Once in her room, Var made sure her door was locked to prevent any nocturnal intrusions, and then she immediately kicked off her shoes, yanked off her annoying top, and her even more annoying skirt. Within seconds she was undressed, and without a second of delay she moved straight on to putting on more clothing.

Simple pajama pants and a conservative tank top were the sleepwear, not the frilly set of lingerie she had once bought purely to admire herself in, though it hung up in the closet. While turning, Var caught the sight of her back in the mirror and winced, as she always did.

Shapely back, ugly scars.

The Twi'lek sighed as she padded across the floor to her bed, lying down on it and staring up at the ceiling as she pulled her headtails over her shoulders and hugged them to her front.

Somehow when she'd imaged a life without the Jedi or the Sith, a world without force powers and lightsabers, she hadn't imagined working as a waitress, or little encounters with drunken louts. And of course she hadn't expected such louts to wind up sleeping on her couch.

The pale young woman reached over to her bedside lamp and switched it off, bathing the room in shadow yet again. Then she slept.