Harder Than it Looks

[greypilgrim]

Harder Than it Looks

 

Scene 1 - Keeping Up Appearances

 

The smoke that drifted lazily around the dark, pulsing cantina carried a faint metallic tang. Corso Riggs frowned. Blasted spiceheads. Good thing we ain't on Justicar turf -- there'd be a raid for certain. And given that they'd blown a good bit of the payout from their last job on new gear and booze, he wasn't sure they'd have enough to post bail if things went downhill fast. As they often did.

 

Not that the Justicars are fussy about things like due process, anyway. But they'd had several days of not much beyond work, and Captain Fiorst had finally said it was well past time for an evening off. Riggs had planned on heading back to the Wonder and chilling with a few beers, but instead he found himself in a crowded, dumpy cantina with sticky floors.

 

It didn't help that the captain had finished off several rounds of drinks, ordering up her next before she was halfway done with the one she had. Corso knew it wasn't his place to tell her what she ought or ought not to be doing, but he figured one of them had to stay sober (at least mostly), so he was still on his first beer. Wasn't sure he'd've wanted a second anyway, it was that bad. He took another swig and somehow managed to swallow before his jaw seized up in the back. ****. How do they manage to make it both weak and sour?

 

Leaning back in the cushioned seat, he sighed. Cities just weren't for him. At least on Ord Mantell you had some open space, even if he hadn't spent much time out there while he was working with That Dirty Thief Skavak. The memory made him scowl, as it always did.

 

At least the music was pretty good. He'd been surprised to see an actual stage with a live band when they walked in. A dive like this, you expected there'd be a jukebox that played little more than feedback. But apparently entertainment was a priority for the Black Sun gang. Much as he didn't approve of gangsters, he couldn't fault them on lack of support of the arts.

 

As he glanced over the crowd on the floor in front of the stage, he noticed the captain right in the middle of things, and his mood lifted. It'd become almost second nature for him, looking around to see how she was doing -- not that he'd ever let her know. But she was just a bitty thing, and the flimsy armor she wore couldn't protect against much more than a sneeze.

 

Almost as though she knew he was watching, she turned and began weaving her way through the crowd, back toward the table. Corso lifted his bottle of swill in mock salute, and when she noticed, she rolled her eyes. But she couldn't hold back a smile.

 

He never got tired of that.

 

"Whew! I'm beat," she said as she flopped down onto the seat beside his. She frowned, then, as she looked at the table. "Where's my drink?"

 

"They cleared it a little bit ago," he replied with a shrug. "Beer?"

 

Her lip curled and she wrinkled her nose, clearly horrified. "Ew. No." She shuddered. "I don't know how you can stand that cheap-*** piss-in-a-bottle."

 

He blinked, then set the bottle down. He hadn't realized it was possible to make his drink seem even less appealing, but then, she had a way of accomplishing the impossible.

 

Vacy scowled as she looked around, and waved over one of the dancers. "Hey, we've got a tab. Bring me another … whatever it was I had last time?" The Twi'lek nodded and moved swiftly, gracefully away. "We are getting so ripped off. I was gone for, like, five minutes --"

 

"Twenty," Corso interjected.

 

"--don't interrupt -- and I get back and my drink is gone? What the blazes were they thinking?" Vacy fumed.

 

That you'd had enough? Not that he was idiot enough to say that out loud. Instead, he ventured, "They're just trying to make money, same's any other place."

 

Vacy rolled her eyes. "I didn't come here for quick service. I came here to get toasted, dance my *** off, and maybe get laid." She glanced his way. "Trying to catch some flies, Farm Boy?"

 

Corso snapped his mouth shut. "You're… a bit more, ahm … blunt … than you typically are," he stumbled after a moment.

 

She leaned toward him, eyes sparkling. "It's the booze. Loosens the tongue, doncha know. Whaddaya think?" Grinning impishly, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Doeth it look loothe?"

 

Two can play at that game. He lifted one shoulder. “I dunno, Captain. Can’t really tell if something’s loose just by lookin’ at it.”

 

A smile curled at the edges of her mouth as one brow lifted. “Riggs, you might be right.” Her voice dropped. Softened. “Care to find out?” she breathed, her nose inches from his.

 

His breath caught in his throat. Stars, how he did. But not yet. Not like this. Not as just-another-notch. He smiled back, though with a sigh this time. “Go have your fun, Captain. I’ll be over here.” He tilted his head forward so that his forehead gently bonked hers. “I got ya.”

 

And when she whispered back, “I know,” it didn’t help matters. But then the music shifted, the beat dropping, rolling a little faster, and she hopped up. “Oo! I love this one.” She grabbed her drink, took several gulps, winced, shuddered, and set the glass back down. “Woo! That’ll keep me going for awhile. Riggs, you really oughta loosen up some. Come dance!”

 

[AN: Shortish, and not done. Stars willing, I'll have more in a coupla days.]

[Silthir]

Heh. You mostly got how people act when their drunk, except for the mostly slurred speech.

 

Haha. Anyway, this story is written exceedingly well, the only thing I regret is reading it before getting to Courscant on my Smuggler.

[greypilgrim]

*grin* Good reading. You picked up on something that doesn't get revealed until later.

 

Anyway, why're you sorry you read it before Coruscant? I don't *think* I included anything spoilerrific...

[Silthir]

*grin* Good reading. You picked up on something that doesn't get revealed until later.

 

Anyway, why're you sorry you read it before Coruscant? I don't *think* I included anything spoilerrific...

 

The companion. I didn't know much about him, I wasn't even aware of his name.

[greypilgrim]

Well... but... who did you THINK was going to end up as the companion?! Of the classes I've played, the Smuggler's got one of the easier companions to pick out. Beaten by the Knight, though. I picked out that companions pretty much from the character's first seconds onscreen.

[Silthir]

Well... but... who did you THINK was going to end up as the companion?! Of the classes I've played, the Smuggler's got one of the easier companions to pick out. Beaten by the Knight, though. I picked out that companions pretty much from the character's first seconds onscreen.

 

I haven't started playing him yet. I skipped the cutscene and logged out. I just wanted to reserve the name for him.

[greypilgrim]

OH! Well.. then don't read anything else because there's another character

[greypilgrim]

Character Introductions:

 

Vacy Fiorst, “cargo transportation specialist.” Fiercely loyal and with a long memory, she carefully projects an aura of easygoing professionalism, desperately hoping her clients and colleagues can’t tell she’s as green as she literally looks. Her cynical barbs and wry humor protect the passionate heart of a secret dreamer, and nowhere is she happier than on the bridge of the Wonder, sailing among the stars.

 

Darmas Pollaran, information broker and sabaac sharp. With manners as smooth as his hands, Darmas seems perfectly comfortable in any society. He enjoys verbal sparring and is always ready with a compliment, witty retort, or double entendre – sometimes all in one!

 

Corso Riggs, Farm Boy. Simple and straightforward – what you see is what you get. As a result, he isn’t too impressed with Darmas Pollaran, especially when it involves the Captain. Despite troubles in his past, he remains generally optimistic and tries to stay true to his principles – though sometimes the Captain makes that a bit difficult.

 

Bell’aria, cantina dancer. Passionate, clever, and wildly resourceful, her experiences as a slave have given her a reckless streak in pursuit of her goals, as she has learned that she can survive just about anything.