Coquelicot

[Sporky]

Zeltros. A party world if there ever was once. Women, men, and everything in between, ready to cater to your needs, as long as it meant pleasure. Pleasure for you, pleasure for them.

So now why was a droid on this planet? Tall, robed, and armed to the nines. He stood out like a sore thumb on this world. Gamboge-colored photoreceptors surved the world around him. Fleshies. He never was able to logically justify such splendor and riches. But it was not his place to question Shard. Shard had told him to bring miss Kharr to this world. And he had done so.

The ship that had held the two of them lay dormant. Her engines were cooling down, and the cockpit lights weren't glowing. It could be a long or short time before she was used again.

But it wasn't his place to question Shard.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"Ah, you made it. Excellent," came a voice from behind them, accompanied by the steps of a number of people. The voice belonged to the much-idolized Shard, of course, and he was accompanied by a couple of pale-looking Zeltron dock officials. "Bolt-bucket, Kharr, meet my new friends Ringo and Dingo," and he gestured nonchalantly at the men behind him; they waved apathetically and stood in place, as if unable to move on their own without the Miraluka's example.

"You'll get along famously, I'm sure. Now then..." He looked around, seeming not to notice the permanently festive atmosphere of the area, then shrugged and waved them all on. "But time wastes! There are things afoot and we much catch them before they get away!" He almost pranced off in the direction of a nearby cantina, which of course was hopping; rue the day that a cantina on Zeltros ceased to hop, of course.

Inside it was smoke, lights, writhing bodies and dark shadowy corners wherein unmentionable activities went on. Shard went straight for the bar, cutting a swath through the crowd; said crowd reacted to his air of determined coldness as if a gust of wind from Rhen Var had blasted through, but he paid no heed. "Barkeep, give me a cold one," Shard ordered, banging a few credits on the bar; the noise seemed to echo in the increasingly silent room, as all eyes turned to look at this alien, this party-crasher.

"And hurry it up!" he added sharply, when it seemed the barkeep was hesitating. The dock officials had remained outside, for what purpose they could not say. "You two, have a seat," and he waved TS and Kharr to the stools on either side of him.

"Sir, we-" the barkeep began, as he gestured at a sign behind him: Leave your droids at the door, the sign said.

"And I said bring me a cold one!" Shard retorted, cold anger emanating off him in almost palpable waves. The unlucky man cringed backward as if slapped and hurried to fulfill the order. "He isn't mine anyway," he muttered beneath his breath. "You are your own droid, bolt-bucket, are you not? And you can't very well leave yourself at the door, now can you?"

[Derriphan]

The ride had been a lot more comfortable considering it was on a more roomy ship. She had exited the ship with Tinne and was walking down the path way following Tinne the whole way. As they were walking her eyes were constantly on her surroundings and then she turned around at the exact time when Shard spoke. Once again Kharr had that feeling in her stomach that she knew he was here and of course she acted on it to come face to face with him. Her golden eyes went to the two Zeltrons and to Shard as a light smile went to her face. A hood still hid her facial features and the cloak hid the rest of her wonderful body.

Nodding to the names and listening to them she followed close behind Shard as they entered a cantina. He parted the bodies inside the bar like moses parted the red sea and she was quick to follow behind him. Sitting herself down and still keeping her hood up despite the hotness the inside of this cantina presented. The mass of bodies grinding on one another, the music, the smells, the sounds, they almost hurt her delicate ears and nose. Of course she had longed sat down before Shard could order her as she watched him try to get a drink. Sitting there still and quiet as she finally spoke up.

"Why are we here Shard?!"

Her voice was still a normal one but it squeaked and cracked. Hoping he hard her with her normal voice cause she couldn't raise it anymore. Despite the eyes that were on them she had no feeling of being worried, because one they were with Shard, and two Tinnie was a droid who could kick ass as far as she had seen. This placed reeked of sweat, boose, and other stuff her mind had yet been told about. smelling all of it together made her stomach quench. Kharr had smelt boose, drugs, sweat, unmentionables, blood, and the such. Although it was never all mixed together at one time it just made her a little sickly smelling all of them come together.

[Sporky]

"You need to stay outsi..."

A guard had tried to keep him out of the bar. The sentence died in the man's throat when he found himself staring at two singed palms. "I am carrying enough fuel to make a city block go up in flames. I will not hesitate to turn you into a smoldering pile of ashes. Move." Maybe it was the threat alone. Maybe Shard's presence helped it. Whatever the reason, the crowd backed away from the robed droid like he was HIV-positive. He made his way to Shard, and sat down on the stool to his right.

The music continued, as did the grinding, bumping, and moaning. But there was an air of apprehension settling over the place. Perhaps they expected the trio to suddenly start killing everyone in sight. Perhaps they expected to droid to set them all on fire. Needless to say, the trio had certainly changed the atmosphere in the place.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"We are here for information, Kharr dearest," the Miraluka explained sweetly. "Information on the Black Nerfs, which I am certain are around here somewhere." His drink came and he leaned back against the bar, surveying the slowly reviving party going on around him. Many of the bargoers threw him dirty looks, but otherwise left it alone. For now, anyway.

It wasn't long before an Trandoshan thug in what passed for businesswear on Zeltros came in, spied the three of them immediately, and arrowed for them with all the subtlety of a ballistic missile. "You!" he snarled in broken Basic. "What you do here?! Why you cause trouble?!"

"You're causing more trouble than I ever have in my life, my good man," Shard retorted calmly, putting his arm around Kharr's shoulder again, "simply by breathing. Who sent you?"

"Shut up! No big words!" the thug whined, holding his head. "Why you here?!"

"I'm looking for someone," the Miraluka went on. "A group of assassi-"

"I said no big words!" the thug interrupted, howling furiously.

Interrupting Shard was a grievous mistake. "Fine then," he snarled, standing up, "we'll do this your way!" A double-shot slugthrower flew up from his boot, the thug's head was yanked downward to impact hard against Shard's knee. The impact, plus the armor, was more than enough to daze him, but Shard didn't let him fall. "Black Nerfs. Tell me now or I kill you," he hissed, the gun jammed against the thug's jaw. "Clear enough?!"

The thug was little more than a bully, and would have been cowed by a much smaller show of strength; he caved immediately and told Shard everything he knew. Eventually the Miraluka understood that there was a meeting in a few hours, which the thug had been supposed to provide security for; it was a slavers' meeting, for gladiator slaves.

That was enough for Shard. "Come with me," he ordered of Kharr and TS, dropping the thug to the floor. "We have a meeting to attend." He strode out of the cantina just as he entered, leaving a wake of cold and indecision behind him.

Out in the street he paused, looking around; they had time, and the meeting was nearby. Perhaps there were preparations in order...? His glance was captured by a clothing store, though judging from the articles in the window it was little more than metallic lingerie. "Kharr, you need new clothes," he declared, striding for the shop. "We need to dress you up; I have a plan, and you are a crucial part of it."