A Taste of Deception (open)

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((i really do love my titles sometimes. i just had to re-use this one))

Aunna was home....well, as home as she could feel in a place that she rarely returned to. Coruscant was the base of operations for the bulk of the Republic's army and navy, but even so she rarely returned. It was the first day off she'd had in a long time, nearly 8 years to be exact, and tomorrw she would be back at work again. Ah meetings, so much fun. The brunette mildly wondered if she would see her brother there, since it was supposed to be a joint meeting of army and navy forces. No, she was sure he'd be there...he was a Colonel after all, and if she, a lowly Major, had been called to attend, then surely he would have been as well.

Stepping out of the air taxi onto the pavement of the entertainment district, Aunna glanced around. Not much had changed, it seemed, in the time she had been away. Sighing, she turned right and began walking along the strip of clubs, restaraunts, and shops. The sun was just setting, and she was in need of something to eat that WASN'T military food. Lord she was sick of military food. Heading to the nearest cantina, Aunna unclipped her military badges and stowed them away in a pouch on her belt. She didn't want to attract more attention than she wanted.

[Zarkan]

Tishr had spent the last few weeks while he awaited his finale assignment wandering about the greater portion of the area of Corusant with in at least two hundred miles of the military fort. As he wandered down the yet unvisited, but amazingly like the last twenty pedestrian lanes he had followed in his wanderlust. He passed a small, but busy curios and pet shop stopping to admire the smallish pets from the vast tract of the republic displayed in the front window of the shop before forcing his way across the packed lane into a small corner cantina.

Before he even stepped though the door he could smell the familiar smells of a cantina, the food, smoke, and over it all, drunk patrons. Tishr shrugged into his maroon colored coat gingerly weaving though the thrall of patrons not to mention stepping over more that one passed out patron or puddle of vomit. After a swift bang on the back of one of the serving droids he managed to convince one to take his order before he dropped into on of the chars in the middle of the chaos laying a hand on his slug thrower as he waited for the droid to return with his drink.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Aunna had only just seated herself in a small corner booth when the droid who had been on it's way to take her order had been called upon by another patron in a maroon coat. Grunting, she shook her head and sat back. Obviously this was going to be a little bit of a wait. Glancing around, the brunette took in the sights: quite a few drunks, a group of twi'lek, a band in the corner, some rather shady looking men who gave her a lingering discomfort....sith? Perhaps Dark Jedi? She shrugged...maybe it was just her imagination. Aunna looked the other way. She was off duty, and they weren't disturbing the 'peace' of the cantina...if there ever was such a thing as peace in a cantina.

Crossing her legs, her eyes once again found themselves lingering on the man who had come in shortly after her. He didn't look like just some random person...something about him stuck out like a sore thumb to her. Huffing slightly, she pushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes and debated on going over to say something to him.

Oh yes, Aunna...good thought. "Hi how are you? Killed anyone lately?" I'm sure that would go over well she thought to herself before shaking her head and looking away once again. In doing so, she noticed the droid returning with the man's drink. It was about time...maybe now she'd get some service as well.

[Vex]

Another set of black eyes scanned the crowd as well. This person had entered several hours before, coming in before the nightly rush and press of creatures desperate to drown the monotonous drudgery of their days in whatever alcoholic concoction they preferred. A drink sat in front of this person. Its contents were unknown. It had grown tepid as it sat there, untouched before him. It was for appearance's sake and that alone.

The figure seemed utterly forgettable...the loose, robe-like garment over his form patched in many places. No doubt each one had once been a different, vivid hue, but the dirt, grime, and wear of use had made everyone pale to almost the same shade of ash grey.

He carefully kept his presence to a negligible level, clamping that iron will down to constrict his Force signature, like closing all the hoods on a lamp, dampening it against any that might be able to pick up on such. What power he used was subtle, willing the eyes of most to overlook him...making him inconsequential, not worthy of note. Essential...he made himself invisible. Unfortunately, no trick was foolproof, hence the drink for cover.

Like an amoeba, he let other tendrils of the Force reach out, brushing lightly against the surface thoughts of each denizen in the bar, gleaning glimpses and tastes of each person. He'd been subtly assessing a certain group when he became aware of another taking interest in the group.

Vex turned his attention in the direction of the woman who seemed to be sizing up his quarry. The group could barely be called Force Sensitive, let alone Dark Jedi, but that didn't keep them from having something valuable to him.

Like tendrils in the current, the imperceptible, waving around in the current of emotion, ego, and alcoholic haze, but he focused on her a bit more. She had a disciplined mind...there wasn't much he could glean with the unobtrusive probing that he was doing. It wasn’t surprising…her bearing, the way she held herself, was quite obviously militaristic. He'd have to use a more "direct" approach, but that could damage her irreparably and, as a rule, he generally limited that to beings that he knew had answers that would help him to reach his goal. Thus, all he would discern is that she now had particular interest in a male that had recently entered and that she would really like some service.

Amusing...utterly useless to his cause, but the Dark Jedi had been forced to learn patience in his endeavors. Members of the military and even Jedi happened to pass here with some frequency. There was much that could be learned, if one knew how to look. He was content to stay until someone happened to offer up a morsel of knowledge that he sought.

Until then, he was content with the amusement of the chattel...

[Verun]

Verun walked slowly into the well-known cantina. After he graduated from military training, he had soon found that he was quite alone. He hadn't the faintes idea of who anyone was in the whole republic military. He learned that the cantina he was now in was often visited by republic military who were off-duty, he went to make himself some new friends. He looked around, mostly everyone looked drunk except for a couple of people that stood out. There was a girl, who definitely had the air of a veteran about her, antoher man who he thought he had seen around many of the republic bases, and finally one robed figure who he would have missed had he not been looking for people. He payed the last of them no mind, he didn't look like anyone he would want to be friends with. Te man who sat in the middle of all the chaos of the busy cantina looked too hard to get to, so he made his way over to the brunette. Before sitting down, he made an attempt to catch her eye.

"Hey, is there anything good to eat in this cantina?" He asked, while sitting down across from her.

He glanced artound the cantina, his eyes resting on a group of men that seemed real shady, but he didn't want a fight so he stopped staring. He offered his hand to the girl in front of him,

"Corporel Verun... oh hell, I guess I'm off duty. I'm Verun Shepard." He said awkwardly.

He remembered the way to start conversation on Dantooine was to ask about their farm, or how their family was doing. He had learned very quick in his stay on Coruscant that those did not work in the city. He smiled and waited for a reply. His gaze wandered to the man who had also got his attention. His hand went down beneath the table, almost unnoticable, but soldiers were trained to watch for everything. Hopefully, he was military, and not planning to shoot up the bar. He hadn't even fired his blaster, other than in training simulations, but he assumed that in real situations it would be much different.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((lol @ theron's post))

Aunna's attention was torn away from her scan of the bar as she felt something cold go up her spine just before she felt as if she were being watched. Moving her eyes around the cantina, she didn't notice anyone looking at her, so she assumed it must have been someone behind her, however, she didn't make any motions to show she thought or felt anything. She had just about been ready to check the area behind her by getting up to order a drink from the bar, when a voice interrupted her thoughts with something about food. Looking up, she noticed a young man sitting himself down across from her. Oh no....here we go. I just got here and already someone is trying to start a conversation with me. At least he doesn't seem drunk yet. she mused silently as he introduced himself. Ah, another military slave like herself. Sighing slightly, she nodded and took his hand, shaking it once before letting go again.

Aunna Borgonia. A pleasure. As for food...they have the typical food. Nothing special, but at least it isn't military mush.

She stated, as the droid walked over and asked for their orders. Aunna requested a simple drink and sat back in her seat slightly, still searching warily for who might be watching her and why.

Verun, mind if I ask you something?

She said quietly, so that only he could hear.

[Vex]

Another military mind came into the spectrum of his awareness. Unlike the comely brunette that was the current focus of his attention, this other one was raw, fresh, and unpolished. His mind had the crispness of boot camp and indoctrination, but the mental blocks and fetters weren't as strong as the woman's. The man was inexperienced, like some backwater drifter that had decided tending the farm wasn't as exciting as riding around in star ships protecting the Republic.

Those surface thoughts that seeped from the man brought up mental pictures of just that sort of thing, causing Vex to lean back slightly and immerse himself in his own amusement. Perhaps he was getting too good at reading people. The young one was from Dantooine? He would have written the boy off completely, but he'd been aware of the momentary glance the man had given him upon first walking in.

For all of his apparently humble upbringings, the man was astute and had will. Vex would not dismiss that lightly. He idly made the motion of lifting the drink, lowering that rebreather unit, and taking a sip before setting it back down. Not a drop of the liquid reached his mouth as he turned back to look towards the bar, leaving his senses in the Force trained on the pair.

[Verun]

Verun smiled as it seemed the girl he had introduced himself to was nice, everyone back at the base seemed to uptight. He stretched, working out kinks he had gotten from training that morning. He felt a slight shiver, but dismissed it was kind of cold in the cantina, but the vibrant atmosphere covered it up. He laughed when she talked about military mush, he knew the feelihng. It seemed that the base of operations spent little to none on making sure their soldiers were fed, not when the money could be used for weapons or other practical things. Suddenly a droid came up behind them.

"I guess I'll have some Juma Juice." He replied after Aunna had made her order.

He had never really been to a cantina before, but he had heard from travelers that Juma was pretty good. He raised an eyebrow when Aunna asked him quietly if she could ask him a question. He paused, before leaning in closer, so he could hear.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" He asked, trying to be as subtle as possible.

[Zarkan]

(am I slow or what? lol)

Tishr could tell he was being watched it was a skill any good sniper developed to know when one was seen. He discreetly looked about first spotting the woman who appeared before catching sight of the rebreather equipped man a which point he quickly made up his mind to watch the pale loner. He leaned back as he waited occasionally watching patrons enter and leave before he spotted a young man enter one who carried himself with the stride of a fresh boot camp trainy a stride tishr could almost recall having such a stride well back in the past. As the man began moving towards the other woman tishr's view was blocked by the return of the serving droid a different unit judging from the nasty rend in the droid's casing. He paid for the glass of tea as he accepted it taking a sip. While the three people had caught his attention he wasn't particularly interested in speaking with them or wouldn't have been if a staggering trandosan hadn't passed out across the table he was sitting at the great stance of which forced him to move. Tishr couldn't see anymore open tables as he craned to look though the mass of people finally deciding to speak with the two obvious military folks as he quickly weaved though the throng glass in hand. Practically breathing on the young soliders back before speaking. "Crowded place, Aye?" he said with a slight smirk "Certainly has nicer patrons than some of the other cantinas."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Someone behind me is watching me...can you see who it is?.....WITHOUT making it obvious that you're looking?

She asked Verun quietly, just as another man stepped up to the table. Aunna gazed up, disconcerted...did she have a sign saying "talk to me" pinned on her somewhere? Hiding her annoyance, she held out a hand to the empty seat.

Hmmm.

Was the answer to his questions.

Take a seat. You are?

She asked, not sure what to think of the sudden company.

[Vex]

Another had managed to pierce through the misdirection veils. It usually did not happen this often. Even the common military minds that passed through here were relatively weak. He knew well enough when it was best to leave and forego dawing further attention to himself. He caught the look of that mercenary fellow, feeling that, he had become a central item of interest for the man.

He stood slowly, without apparent haste. He'd felt the woman's curiosity and concern before it rippled into annoyance at the arrival of another. That caused him to smirk slightly behind the rebreather. It seemed that beauty simply could not catch a break today. He shook his head...catching the eye of that young, greenhorn soldier as her query inevitably brought the man's attention upon Vex.

He canted his head in the soldier's direction, making it clear that he knew he was being sought out before he began to weave his way through the throng and towards the exit.

[Verun]

Verun gave Aunna a puzzled look even though he heard the question. Who would be watching her in the heart of the Republic. Well... she was pretty. He dismissed the thought. Better to not confuse this planet more for him by trying to make relationships, he just needed friends now. He discreetly glanced behind her, his eyes coming to a halt on the cloaked man he had seen earlier. The man stood up, and then met his eyes for moment. Verun suddenly shivered involuntary and felt the need to get out of there. He swallowed horsely as the man went towards the exit. Something felt wrong about him. He was momentarily distracted when the man he had seen before came to sit at their table.

"Hey, the name's Verun." He said quietly, still not bieng able to shake the feeling.

He glanced at Aunna, and then tilted his head towards the man exiting, trying to signal that it was probably him who was watching her. He seemed to be making a hasty exit, which heightened Verun's suspicions of him. He looked around confusedly, wondering if they could sho9ot someone for being scary.

"So where are you guys from?" He asked, trying to break the ice a little more and learn some things about his new friends.

[Daxtei]

Daxtei walked into the cantina, strange black bag slung over his shoulder and small astromech droid that was very dirty and obviously home-made at his side. "Kay, get me a Pan Gablarster. Double-shot. You know how I like it." The little droid beeped and rolled off, not-so-deftly weaving through the throng. Daxtei then got the attention of a serving droid and ordered the same thing, payed for it, then looked around for a place to sit, knowing that K-5 D-2 would not be back for a couple of minutes. Daxtei had built that droid himself, and knew full well how slow it was.

Noticing a few booths open, Daxtei headed over in that direction, sipping his drink as he went. Weaving through the crowd and managing not to hit any of the patrons with his bag was a feat that would be commendable in anyone, but it wasn't so hard with Daxtei's four arms. However, he did slightly bump someone who had the crisp, new look of a soldier just out of bootcamp. The slight bump nudged Daxtei's drink, and it spilled forward all over Verun.

"Hey! Come on, man, watch where you're standing! You owe me for that drink." Daxtei said quietly. Wondering quietly if he wanted to relieve a little stress by beating the guy into a pulp.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Aunna watched the man she had previously overlooked. There was something dark about him, but she couldn't quite...ah, that was why! Her mind suddenly put two and two together. He had wanted to see and not be seen, and the only type of people who could manage to do that, besides VERY good outlaws, were force users...and judging by the dark aura that seemed to surround him, he was either sith or dark jedi. Sighing slightly, she shook her head and smiled at Verun.

Thanks. It's no wonder I didn't see him....he didn't want to be seen. Obviously he didn't like the fact that you had.

Anyway, I'm from Corellia, though I've been stationed on the Talus and Tralus bases on and off again for the past year.

She replied with a slight shrug, and sat back, crossing one leg over the other. Shortly after a Besalisk man spilled his drink all over Verun, then proceeded to blame the young man for the accident. Sighing, Aunna shook her head and looked up at the four armed man.

Look sir, I'm sorry that you spilled your drink, but unless you've had enough of it to make you blind, it was obvious that it wasn't his fault, but yours. I suggest you calm yourself down, and buy another...nothing good will come from your starting a fight.

The major stated dryly, her gaze holding that of the emotionally prickly besalisk. As she waited for a reply, she folded her arms across her chest lightly, ready for just about anything....after all, who knew what this mentally constipated man would do?

[Vex]

Vex was annoyed. It only took the barest of surface scans to realize that he was the target of the woman's attention, if only for the moment. He'd been interested in her because, from what he could glean, she was decently ranked. It was nothing flashy, but it was enough to have clout. Properly nurtured, a friendly acquaintanceship or carefully leveraged dirt could help him get into places he required on this planet.

Of course, it also meant that he was not doing as decent a job of hiding himself or his aura either. He'd also managed a glimpse of that in her mind's eye. He clamped down on his presence in the Force once more, shrinking it down, molding it like putty, pressing it smaller and smaller until it was negligible. He turned to look back, seeing the altercation happening at the table...and it gave him an idea.

He cut back through the crowd, letting his will trickle into the Force and getting the masses to shift imperceptibly and unconsciously out of the way. He raised a hand to the Besalisk, letting the motion catch the alien's attention before speaking. He threw out that will into the Force once more, coupling it with the hypnotic motion of the hand. That motion happened to open up those tattered folds of his cloak, revealing the unmistakeable cylinder there. "You feel bad that you spilled your drink on another patron. You want to apologize to the soldier and go back to the bar and get another drink."

[Daxtei]

(Mentally Constipated. That is good. I'm going to have to write that down somewhere.)

Shifting his bag from one shoulder to the other, Daxtei looked at the woman who had spoken. She was pretty, in a way, though slightly lacking in arms. She was dressed in clothes that lacked the grime and dirt that was impossible to get off if you lived in any city, and so it was obvious that she was from a peacefull outer-rim world, or was part of the republic army. Daxtei was inclined to think the latter, from the way she held herself with an air of authority.

"I'm sorry, hun, but I am not starting anything. I am simply requesting that this man pay for the drink he spilled. If there is a problem with that, I'm sure we can find a nice private room and 'work it out'" Daxtei smiled knowingly.

Daxtei blinked at the man that seemed to appear out of the throng almost as if he had been invisible. Daxtei had been sure that the booth the man had occupied was empty, and had been heading there to sit down himself when the soldier had gotten in his way. At the swish of the cloak, Daxtei had just enough time to notice the distinctive cylinder strapped to the man's belt before his attention was drawn to the man's hand.

"You feel bad that you spilled your drink on another patron. You want to apologize to the soldier and go back to the bar and get another drink."

Daxtei stared at him for a moment. Was this guy stupid? Then the wave of a force suggestion hit him. Having faced down a couple of force-users before in his line of work, Daxtei knew how to combat such an attack, however he was caught completely by surprise and the strength of the suggestion was astounding. Daxtei stood stock still, staring eye to eye with the strange force-using man. After a few seconds his face began to twitch. Then his wattle began to ,well, wattle. Finally his will broke, and he said "Sorry, man." To Verun before heading off to find another drink, slightly ticked off for no reason he could remember.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((wow. first time i've seen that work. Lucky Theron...you find the one guy willing to play along. *sigh* oh well. ^_^ ))

Aunna blinked slightly as the beslisk spoke. Rolling her eyes slightly, she sighed. Men never took her seriously, and it was irritating to her, especially recently. Mentally shrugging it off, she had been about to reply when the dark force user re-emerged on the scene, persuading the drinkless man to appologise, and walk off with a slightly dazed and confused expression. Looking up at the newcomer, she narrowed her eyes slightly, having caught a glimpse of the saber hidden beneath the cloak.

Can we help you?

She asked, her tone chilled slightly, as she focused on a simplistic song. It was a trick she had learned from a jedi she had once worked with, so that her thoughts could not easily be read by other force users.

[Daxtei]

Daxtei walked back through the crowd, Astromech droid by his side and drink in his hand. Along with his big black bag, he carried a smaller pack with a few junk parts he had managed to barter off of a deathstick dealer for cheap. It helped that the dealer was also a user, and completely stoned out. As he sat down , the bag banged against the wall and gave a little squeak. Daxtei punched it, hard, and said, "Quiet, you! Shut your yap or i'll be giving you to Frlanget dead, bonus or not!"

A small whine came from the bag, before a squeaky voice said, "Sorry, sorry, it's just so cramped in here!"

"Yeah, yeah, like I care."

[Vex]

(*blinks* Wow...that's actually the first time someone's ever went along with it before. Every other time I've played a Force User, people miraculously have a force of will negating such powers... and it was well-played. Daxtei...you rock, mano. Karma for you and yer goin' on my X-mas card list!)



The Besalisk was clearly not unversed in battling mental manipulation. Even caught mentally flat-footed, he still put up quite a fight, forcing Vex to turn the screws tighter, holding that eye contact as the battle of wills went on quickly and silently. At last that compulsion found a chink in the armor and slammed in. The creature had begun to twitch...much more force would have risked mentally damaging him. With that muttered apology and the shrinking of the man's presence, however, Vex's enjoyment grew. He'd never had much luck with the flashier aspects of Force-manipulation...it was the mental aspects that had always proven themselves more accessible.

Opening up that hole in the creature's armor also gained a few minor boons...including information that might make the Besalisk useful in the future. Committing these things to memory, he watched as the man eventually moved to the booth he'd so recently vacated. At the woman's words, however, Vex turned his attention down to the three at the table. Pitch black eyes took in her own. He could catch the sounds of that simple song in her mind...a simple but often effective trick for hardening one's mind against intrusion. She was definitely onto him.

Breathing in deeply from the rebreather, he lifted his hand and drew it off, looking at her with those pallid features. He smiled, his lips thin and bloodless, holding little mirth within them as he regarded her. "Indeed, Major...but not today. For now, it is I that helped you. We'll see each other again." The mask was moved back into place as he turned on his heel to move away again. Before he stepped away, however, he turned his head to look over his shoulder at her.

"I believe the third stanza begins with 'On the Hills of Alderaan', Major....not how you are remembering it." Bemused, he corrected her concentration on the lyrics while making it perfectly clear that he knew what she was doing and that he had indeed been in her head. That would most likely provoke some action.

He moved back toward the exit.

[Verun]

Verun had just been talking when a person spilled his drink all over him and then started yelling accusations at him. Verun was usually a peaceful, quiet person but he would never allow someone to walk all over him, it was a trait he picked up dealing with stubborn animals. He glared daggers at the man, about to speak when a flurry of events happened. First, he was glad to hear Aunna come to his defense. He smiled, he would like working with her. The man with the astromech droid gave off the impression that he was not going to go quietly. Just as Verun was about to answer the shady figure came back and whispered to the man. The angry person left, surprisingly and Verun was left speechless. The figure then said something that made no sense, but ti seemed to bother Aunna. She had helped him so he would try and help her. He called out to the starnge man before he left.

"Wait! I wanted to thank you for your help earlier. The name's Verun, what's yours?" He asked, trying to probe to find out anything about him.