Log:Mandalorian Standoff

Mandalorian Standoff: Jarlan Teel meets Sumi Kora's itchy trigger finger.

OOC Date: December 23, 2019
Location: Nar Shadda
Participants: Jarlan Teel, Sumi Kora, Tharyn Corlas Kasia Ashkuri, Ca'tra Kora, Aliraet

-_-< The Meltdown Cafe - Starport District, Nar Shaddaa >-_--_--_--_--_--_--_-

~~

Tharyn sits at the counter with Ca'tra, the woman's body being plated entirely in armor - anonymous to the outside world, though the slim man seems to know her just fine. Wahl sits a bit down the way with her droid, by and largely into whatever mental gymnastics she may or may no be doing. Tharyn turns to leave an order with the man behind the counter, saying "Two portions of noodles, um, please. Lots of spicy nerf slices. And a beer." Then he returns his attention to the armored figure at his side.

"So, um, just getting things together," he explains to her. "Got rid of the first ship, um, I had, ended up getting a transport that I'm turning into a proper, um, fighting ship. Got a classic of a starfighter, um, too. Just getting things together. Paying off some debts, um, as well...just busy all, um, over. Returning to myself. Eventually." He nods to the lady, too. "I uh, been fighting alongsde your people, too, as you know. Weird feeling smashing those rogues with, um, my bare hands. I thought the armor would make them, uh, more resistant. Anyway. Your family, um, doing well?"

~~

Shifting the weighty bag slung across her shoulder to turn towards Tharyn, Ca'tra nods on occasion during his recital of recent events. <"I've heard your name mentioned. Positively. You do well with those hands of yours. The Bounty Hunters don't take well to people who can not hold their place. But you have.". The straw is slipped under her helm and the level of the ale she is drinking lowers. He cannot see her smile but it warms her voice, <"What did you name the new ship?">

~~

It's busy enough that there are a paucity of seats available for a single diner. Jarlan bumps through the crowd, jostled by a few hulking sapients (some of whom are armored, and some of whom are just plain large). He's clad in spacer clothing that's a little too well-mended to have ever belonged to an actual spacer. Everything about him is just too well-groomed, down to his smooth cranium and sculpted eyebrows.

"Sorry." An elbow bumps Tharyn as Jarlan takes his ear. "Crowded in here," the fellow remarks in explanation. 

The order piques his interest, and a quick glance at the menu confirms it. "Hey, that actually sounds good. One of those for me, too," he requests of the bartender. A credit chit's inserted into the reader and then tucked back into a deep breast pocket.

~~

"I am pleased to, um, hear that," Tharyn replies, tucking a fist under his chin as he talks with his armored companion. "I've done my best to, um, make sure I'm useful to the, um, teams I'm a part of." He's about to say more when the particularly well-heeled, bald man bumps into him, and offers a polite 'No problem' in kind with the fellow's apology. Keeps a hand resting on the credit case at his belt now, though. It's Nar Shaddaa.

But after that, he looks back to Ca'tra. "The ship's called Avenger," Tharyn tells her. "Um, she's a YT-1500. Solid ship, can be, um, suitably modified for real combat when necessary - I've got her in, um, down at the Manic Mechanic, putting a laser turret on." A beat. "You know I was fighting with your cousin...brother? Hadrix Kora. Sorry, I, um, don't know how you folks refer to each other. Anyway. He's very talented with a lift pack. I, uh, like watching him work in the field."

~~

The armored woman doesn't deign to say anything to the snappy dresser, the blank face of her helm turned in his direction long enough to register the face and clothing. <"You ordered two bowls of noodles? Hungry, then? That augurs well getting your appetite back."> Behind them the cafe begins to fill with people escaping the rain. <Brother, in Basic. We are brothers and sisters to one another. And, yes. He's formidable."> Another sip of the ale nearly finishes the glass.

~~

A blue plated, well armored form, trudges through the rain to the bar to stand beneath its protective awning. A cursory glance is paid in the direction she came from before she looks ahead again and lifts her helm. Beneath the bucket shaped helmet is a youthful face. Perhaps once, long ago, Sumi was attractive, but that was robbed from her when one side of her face was carved permanently and scarred. This left her expression neutral, and her stature humbled. Her helmet is placed atop the bar and she brushes her messy hair from her face, eventually ordering a bowl of steaming broth.

~~

Jarlan and Ca'tra flank Tharyn at the bar; Jarlan looks like a new arrival settling in with others to dodge the unpredictable Nar Shadda weather. "Hey, can you put Know Wars on?" Jarlan asks of the bartender.

"Hell no, the pod races aren't done for another hour yet," the server says with a growling sneer. He gives Jarlan a disgusted look and shuffles on to tend to other patrons. Jarlan does get his beer first, though, and takes a swig from the peculiar C-shaped bottle. 

"Hey, you said you've got a YT-1500?" he inquires of Tharyn. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude," he apologizes to Ca'tra. "I hear those are wicked fast. Great cargo ships for the size. Are you doing supply runs or using it for mercenary work?" 

It's Nar Shadda. The word 'mercenary' doesn't raise many eyebrows.

~~

Though there aren't any plates, the color of Kasia's dress today is in blue shades, a nice gradual fade from lighter blue into dark, with silvery accents here and there. She has a bag over her shoulder, one hand resting atop the bag itself to help prevent thieving fingers from snatching whatever is inside. She has an umbrella device propped against her opposite shouder, helping to keep her dry in the downpour, though as she steps beneath the cover of the Meltdown's awning, she shuts the device off and lets it slide from its perch. "I always miss Nar Shaddaa until I'm here, then it rains on my hair and I'm ready to go again."

~~

The cafe steams with the press of people, voices rising to compete with the pod races on the holoprojector platform and the rain on the awning. Without explanation, Ca'tra's gloved hands rise to her black helm, a snick and the hiss of pressure being equalized accompanies her lifting it off. As she shakes out her gleaming black hair, the color of someone's armor seen through the press of armor catches her attention.

"Excuse me, save my place would you Tharyn. Mind ordering me a bowl of noodles, too, please?" Slipping off her stool she pushes through the crowd to stand next to Sumi. "Alor," she says and when she is sure she's been seen, she places a hand on her shoulder.

~~

Sitting next to Ca'tra is Tharyn, whose double portions of spicy, nerf-laden noodles are set before him alongside a transparent plastoid mug of beer. "I'm, um, more of a high-mobility combatant and grenadier, as you've, um, seen," he says to Ca'tra as he sets about stirring about the first portion in its plastic bowl with a two-tined fork. "I've been thinking about picking up a repeater, though, um, when I can. I can sharpshoot and, um, all."

He's about to say something more when Ca'tra interrupts, and takes her leave - and nodding one to the woman looks aside to Jarlan. "Uh, yeah," he says to the man with a nod. "Not as, um, well-armed as I would like, but it's tough as, um, nails and its cargo capacity can also, uh, be used to haul a couple combat speeders in the hold if need be." He adds, "Mercenary. Mostly. But supply runs, um, too, when the work calls for it. Long as it's not, uh, clearly immoral, at least by my compass, I pretty much do, um, whatever."

~~

Sumi catches sight of Kasia Ashkuri from the security feeds being displayed to the staff inside the safety of the bar. Even though the image is holographic blue, it does not diminish Kasia's ability to look good in anything. Her arrival to the bar has Sumi greeting quietly, nodding her head.

Ca'tra's arrival by her side robs any further attention, and the shorter Mandalorian turns to regard the dark haired beauty. /Alor/, a title her kin now call her yet its sound is still foreign to her for some reason. A solemn look finds Ca'tra, and Sumi turns to embrace the young doctor briefly. "I see you, Ca'tra." She says softly, before kissing her cheek. When she draws back from the other, she manages a small, painful smile. "What brings you back to Nar Shaddaa? I thought you would've been delighted with Ealor."

Sumi's ordered broth arrives, drawing Sumi's dark gaze for a moment. She drags the bowl closer, then glances back toward Kasia, Tharyn, and Jarlan.

~~

Jarlan digs in his pocket and produces a thin plastic identity card. It's slid towards Tharyn. "I'm Jarlan. I work in shipping and logistics for a local company," he says, and offers Tharyn a handshake. "We mostly work as brokers and drop-shippers. Once in a while though we need a fast runner to take cargo to the Rim planets. Someone who's quick and well-armed enough to deter pirates. I don't know why they're so obsessed with moisture vaporators," he says, sourly. "But they do like to hijack 'em all the same." 

"Give me a call, if you're interested. We can talk numbers and contract work." He's about to say more, but then Kasia walks in. Jarlan's face brightens. "Well well, the lady Ashkuri," he greets her from his seat at the bar. A short wave is given, and a brilliant grin as well. "You following me? Very unseemly for a married woman," he says, affecting a tone of playful rebuke. The stool next to him is open, and he invites her to join him with a wave.

~~ Kasia spots Sumi, offering the familiar Mandalorian woman a fonds smile, and gentle shoulder pat. "Sumi, good to see you." Ca'tra is noted next, and she too is givem a friendly smile. "It's nice to see you again as well." The greeting from Jarlan draws her attention away, earning him a little laugh as she moves to drop onto the seat beside him. "It's entirely a coincidence. I am definitely not following you to try and harass you into drinking at my bar instead," she assures him in a solemn tone. The solemn air is broken by the grin that follows. "Though I do have a certain fondness for this place, so I suppose I can't act too disappointed at the lost patronage." ~~

Ca'tra honors the smile that few see from Sumi with a dip of her head returning a light kiss to the unscarred side of her face. "Good, you are having something to eat, too." With a glance out into the rain pounding the pavement she grimaces, "Not from any love of Nar Shaddaa but to have work done on the Solar. What brings you here?"

Considering the bar seating for a moment, she taps the green Twi'lek nursing a beer, on the shoulder, "Would you mind changing places with my...my friend, please?"

A gruff hrumph and a sharp toothed smile is given her but he moves allowing Sumi to move down a seat.

Ca'tra turns with a faint smile at Kasia's greeting, "Madame Ashkuri. The same."

Seats are shifted and by the time the doctor is back at her place a bowl of noodles sits sending wreathes of savory vapor upwards. "Back," she says and shoots a glance at Jarlan before breaking her chopsticks apart and picking up a heap of hot noodles.

~~ "Water is life on all kinds of Rim worlds," Tharyn offers to Jarlan as the other man wonders aloud, taking the identity card and sipping it into his jacket with one hand while shaking Jarlan's with the other. "Pirates are capitalists as much as, um, thieves. They'll just sell it out from under you to your market and, um, they'll take it. 'Captive market' is not, um, a theoretical term out there."

And then Jarlan's attention is divided, leaving him quiet. Kasia of course is seen - lords above and below, how could a woman like that be missed? - but she's speaking to Jarlan and so he keeps to himself. There's noodles and beer to be consumed, after all. "Welcome back," he offers to Ca'tra as she returns to her place. "Um. I'd say hello to your, um, chieftain but I'm not sure if I, uh, can. Do I rate? I don't know the, um, culture."

~~

"I've been on the prowl." Sumi answers Ca'tra back, glancing away when Kasia touched her shoulder. For a moment, Sumi met Kasia's gaze but seeing who it was extinguished the fire that seemed to bristle. "Mrs. Ashkuri." Sumi says, respectfully. "At least it's not the acid rain. For you, it's the rain that makes you want to leave; for me it's the smell. Like a bowl of noodles and a big steaming pile of drek." This is addressed to Kasia and her earlier point about missing Nar Shaddaa, then wanting to leave it. These were notions Sumi was all too familiar with.

When Ca'tra shifted down, so did Sumi. All she needed to move was her helmet and the steaming bowl of broth. Rather than speak to the others and interject, Sumi looks ahead and lifts her bowl for a noisy sip!

~~

Business pleasantries are exchanged with Tharyn quite readily. Jarlan seems sincere about his offer. He turns his attention to Kasia settling in next to him. "Wow, is business so bad?" Jarlan inquires of Kasia with a mirthful expression. "You're not even at the bar, you're out there hassling customers on the street? Give me a coupon, then we'll talk about me buying you your own drinks at your own bar," he says with a light, ribbing tone.

A few bites of noodles are washed down with a gulp of beer. "So you're in tight with the Mandalorians, huh?" he murmurs, pitching his voice a bit lower. "And you, too?" he inquires of Tharyn. "I had no idea there were so many of 'em on this rock. I hear they're some of the best warriors in the galaxy."

~~

Kasia meets Sumi's gaze for those moments, understanding the look, and smiling as the fierceness fades away to something friendlier. She relaxes into her seat and turns her head to regard Jarlan for a few moments. "Oh, just terrible," she lies. "Sadly I am all out of coupons, but I can promise you a free ride on the nerf? Or what about a guarantee of a good fortune from the fizzpop machine?" She can only really promise one of those things, but that doesn't stop her. The question that follows has her glancing over at Sumi and Ca'tra again. "Yes," she confirms. "I am. Completely by accident, but truly, they're a good group of people to have on your side. Especially Sumi," she makes a motion to the woman in question. "Sumi is about the best bounty hunter there is." No one tell Tarion she said this. ~~

Raising an eyebrow at him, "Tharyn, she doesn't bite...often. Only the deserving. Interpret that as you may." A clear slurp of noodles in the Mandalorian manner punctuates her words. Eyeing the man sitting beyond Tharyn's shoulder she asks in a low voice, "A customer or a potential patron?"

The whisper about Mandalorians nearly makes her choke but she gets through the noodles. Kasia's assessment of Sumi is acknowledged with a straightening of her shoulders and a lifted chin to Sumi. "They are talking about you, Alor." A smile lights the woman's blue eyes as she waits for her reaction.

~~

"I fought with 'em," says Tharyn in response to Jarlan's query, taking a bite of noodles and slurping the very, /very/ spicy stuff up before swallowing it up. "I, uh, wouldn't say I'm 'tight' with 'em. Mandalorians, um, are great folks, but they're their own, um, folks. You know? I figure you gotta be, um, one of them to be really, uh, 'tight'." He reaches for his drink, now, the pale golden stuff cheap as dirt and watered down so that it only really approximates the descriptor of 'beer' in a way one might refer to a gundark as 'passionate'. "More power to 'em, um, I say. Family is, um, everything."

He offers to Ca'tra, "I, uh, have no idea. Both I guess."

~~

Sluurrrrrrrrrrrrrp.

Is the reaction that came from Sumi, who glances over at the grinning Mando'ade. Sumi had soup dripping from her chin and from the corners of her mouth, but she wipes it away with the sleeve of one arm, using the part that isn't plated or armored. "Yeah?"

She asks, feigning ignorance. "Talk's free. When there's action, and /credits/ I'll have something else to say about it." It was still high praise coming from Kasia! Sumi goes back to her soup until someone addresses her, or claims that they do not like her and they've the death mark in 8 systems. Sumi's dark hair falls over her scarred eye and that respective side of her face. She makes no effort to move it after an empty bowl is set down on the bar top.

Sumi chuckled. Tharyn said tight.

~~

"Okay, wow," Jarlan remarks. His body language expresses hyperbolic indignation as palms lay flat on the table, responding to Kasia's playful quip. "I know I'm new to Nar Shadda, but 'free ride on the nerf'-- that sounds like a proposition, doesn't it?" he inquires of the vicinity, aloud. Perhaps more loudly than the quiet conversation requires-- but there's a mirthful expression on his face as he ribs Kasia for her proposition. 

"Right? A little on the lewd side? I mean, I'm flattered, Kasia," he assures the woman. "But I don't want to end up in someone's blaster sights. Speaking of--" He leans sideways around Tharyn, apologetically resting one shoulder on the man's pauldron so he can speak to Ca'tra. "Possible client," he reassures her. Another card's produced and handed to her. "I work for Mundler Difflin shipping," he explains. "Logistics and supplies. I was telling your friend Tharyn here," he gestures, "that we're always looking for contractors to escort work to the Rim worlds. Pirates, Resistance cells, First Order blockades-- we do what we can to expedite delivery of goods to the colonies. Is that something your, uh..." He searches for the word, glancing at the other Mandos. "Clan, might be into?"

~~

Kasia barks out a laugh in the face of Jarlan's faux indignation. "My new friend, I can assure you that on the occasions I have made propositions, I don't do so in riddles. I find it a lot less effective than being direct. In part because Hex is a smidge oblivious when it comes to suggestive innuendo, and just leads to confusion, or one instance of an hour long fight when he found out there weren't actually any cookies." She gathers her shoulders in a helpless sort of shrug, then slides a sidelong glance over at Sumi, communicating something unspoken in a look. Something in what Jarlan says afterward catches her attention, brows lofting slightly. "Are you saying your company runs blockades?"

~~

With a nod of approval at Tharyn, Ca'tra lays her chopsticks across the top of her unfinished bowl. Wiping her fingers on a napkin before picking up the card, she examines it as Jarlan gives her, what sounds like, a practiced spiel on his company. Tharyn designated as a friend merits a little tilt of her head, clan earns a clearing of her throat. "Clan will do. And yes, we do."

She picks the card up rather than slide it to Sumi on the noodle broth sprinkled counter. "Here we go," she says handing it to Sumi. Turning back to Jarlan. "The chief of our clan is here beside me. I'll let you make your own introduction."

~~

"My new friend, I can assure you that on the occasions I have made propositions, I don't do so in riddles. I find it a lot less effective than being direct. In part because Hex is a smidge oblivious when it comes to suggestive innuendo, and just leads to confusion, or one instance of an hour long fight when he found out there weren't actually any cookies." She gathers her shoulders in a helpless sort of shrug, then slides a sidelong glance over at Sumi, communicating something unspoken in a look. Something in what Jarlan says afterward catches her attention, brows lofting slightly. "Are you saying your company runs blockades?"

~~

All these people talking around him seems only to cause Tharyn to shrink in his seat - he hunkers down over his first bowl of meat and noodles, and proceeds to munch away, much in the vaccuum-cleaner method of bivouaced infantry. Perhaps he metabolizes through inhalation.

~~

HIIIISSSSSSSSS. -- Click.

That's the sound a Mandalorian's helmet makes when the seal has been re-established. Sumi took the card from Ca'tra and turned to face Jarlan just as her HUD powered on. Her Mandalorian visor suddenly changed from a dark tinted black to a washed out reflective silver that cascaded down; this was indicative of her HUD coming online. Almost immediately, all the faces present are scanned and an uplink to the BHG database is established thanks to the feline looking ears of black plasteel design that serve as antennaes for such a purpose.

Sumi's sudden shift could have been interpreted as a reaction to hearing 'Resistance', but it may have also been the result of her finishing the broth and feeling more comfortable with her helmet on. Regardless of the purpose, Jarlan now stared down a fully armored Mando'ade of hardly any menacing height. Blue plated, silver trimmed with a tattered cape designed to be flame retardant. Up close, he may observe that she's a literal armory of highly modified weaponry capable of all manner of destruction.

Sumi does not introduce herself. She holds the card out, glancing up slightly from it to the face the name belongs to. Kasia's questions rings true, much like Sumi's silence.

~~

I'm not saying we *do* anything," Jarlan assures Kasia. "Just that we expedite shipments between suppliers and purchasers." He's getting to his feet so he's not awkwardly speaking over both Tharyn and Ca'tra, and stepping a half-pace towards Sumi while finishing his words. 

He's brought up short by Sumi staring at him. She's a little shorter than he is, but that battle armor makes of them a height-- and she's got the scars, literal and figurative, to show that the armor isn't just for show. 

Jarlan gulps. Once. Hands flex cautiously from the wrist to show he's unarmed and poses no threat. "Like I said, we're just expediters," he says with careful, clear elocution. "But you know how it goes out here. It can take weeks for shipments to get here from the Core blocks. By then pirates might have shifted lanes, the First Order might be confiscating goods-- it's dangerous outside the settled systems. So, sometimes it helps to have... security," he says, delicately. "Just so ambitious naval officers don't get the wrong idea about confiscating civilian goods to support the war effort. A clan of Mandalorians flying escort..." He trails off and shrugs limply. "I can't imagine you'd get that sort of deterrence even if we owned a gorram Star Destroyer."

~~ Kasia's head tilts to one side so that she can watch as Sumi's helmet is fitted into place, and the visor on it goes reflective. There's a press of lips that's meant to suppress a smile, only marginally successful as her focus shifts back to Jarlan. "Of course. Saying you do anything specific like that would probably be unwise considering where we are." She doesn't probe any further on the methods the company he's representing uses, simply listening as he continues on his pitch to the Mandalorian clan. "I don't know that I'd say *more* intimidating than a star destroyer, those are fairly unsettling, but they're still pretty intimidating. /I/ wouldn't want to go up against them."

~~

The bowl of soup left neglected behind her, the doctor has with a light twist risen from her seat and stood up facing Jarlan and Sumi making a corner of the triangle. Face as bland as a helmet visor, she watches the man stammer his way through trying to not dig himself in deeper.

"It's generally not recommended. Nor is flattery if I may make a suggestion." The doctor often strikes people as being milder than others in her clan, look closely at her armor and it might dissuade you of that notion. The helmet she places on her head makes her visage no blander than before.

~~

With a sigh, Tharyn slips off his stool, draining his glass. "I, uh, gotta do a, um, thing," he tells Ca'tra, nodding to the lady - and then, before taking his leave, murmurs a single word to Jarlan as he goes to take his leave.

"Eject."

And then he's off, jet-benozzled boots clomping as he goes, heading out into the rain.

~~

<"I'm keeping this."> Sumi says, indicating the card. It's deposited into the pocket pouch of her bandolier, secured when the pouch's cover snaps back in place. Despite appearing somewhat menacing, Sumi makes no effort to draw a weapon. Jarlan's explanation encourages Sumi's head to tilt slightly. She's about to speak when Tharyn's sudden motion halts this endeavor, and her silence is made pregnant. Her 'gaze' follows the man as he makes his exit, then her head returns to Jarlan.

<"Resistance cells, you say? Tell me more about them. Please.">

Sumi's subtle hand motion brushes her cape back slightly from her right side revealing a custom grip for a DL-44 handcannon. The holster, if Jarlan is familiar with such things, is designed for efficiency and is favored by many of the best gunslingers in the outer rim. A single finger taps against the handle of this weapon.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

<"I insist."> Sumi's head tilts slightly, giving Kasia a 'look', though perhaps more is said through Sumi's stance than conveyed by the dull look of her helm. Ca'tra's presence near Sumi alerts the Mandalorian hunter of her proximity.

~~

Jarlan flickers a glance at Tharyn when the fellow departs, and nods once at him. Perhaps in farewell, or in thanks. Kasia's advice is noted too, twisting to nod over his shoulder at her-- but then he's facing both the Mandalorians, and one of them puts gun to hand. 

There's a flickering in Jarlan's eyes and his expression and posture change subtly. Like a fast wardrobe change. The good humor and playful banter disappears from his chiseled features and his hands rest loosely at his side. If he's frightened, it doesn't show. 

"No," he says, bluntly, of her demand. "And shooting me isn't going to do you any favors, either. You think I'm trying to butter you up?" he inquires of Ca'tra, looking to her. Then back to Sumi. 

"I'm a realist. What you do? is exceptional. A unique skill, one that has *earned* some admiration." There's a little iron in his voice, a certitude one might not expect from a desk worker. He does have a compelling way of speaking, resolute diplomacy in action. "I'm not here to play games and you're not here to have your egos fluffed. I *am* here to hire the best, and I hear Mandalorians are the best at what they do. I'm a businessman, plain and simple." Hands spread, palms up. "If you shoot me, all you're going to do is tell a lot of people that you're not interested in doing business." 

He stares at that visor, unblinking.

~~

Kasia turns in her seat so that she's got her back to the bar, leaning with her elbows propped on the counter as she listens. It's rare that she doesn't have anything to add to a conversation, she's the chatty sort and not shy to share an opinion, but this is one of those rare times where nothing she can say will really help, perhaps hurt, but apparently that's not something she's inclined to push for tonight either. So she listens, head turning so she can watch Jarlan as he speaks his piece, then her focus shifts over to Sumi and Ca'tra, watching curiously for the response. ~~

As unmoving as a statue, only the breast plate of Ca'tra's armor shifts slightly as she breathes in concert with her Alor. Behind the helm, the sliver of a grim smile slides over her lips. The man will regret his glibness if stays on the same tack.

"Yes," she replies. "Our reputation is known. Speaking of it in this manner amounts to pandering. Answer the Alor's question."

~~

The 'look' Sumi gives Jarlan is one that conveys that she's not used to being told no. The tap tap tapping on her weapon stops, and it seems as if the Mandalorian is weighing the inevitable judgement of violence or not. For the moment, she listens to his words, then the back drop of rain as it falls behind the pair of clan warriors. A slight breeze brushes Sumi's cape slightly, revealing the concealed shotgun hanging from the single-point sling off her shoulder, pressed flush with her ribs with its muzzle near her leg.

<"Forgive me, Mr. Jarlan."> Sumi says, stepping into his circle as if stepping up to him. She didn't care if he was taller, fatter, larger; she'd dropped a Herglic with a Keldabe kiss once. <"You claim to be a businessman. That's fine. I'm a business woman, so to speak. I'm a bounty hunter. /That/ is my business, and some think I happen to be pretty good at it. My specialty is tracking down Jedi Knights and Resistance warfighters. I drag them to the First Order for credits. It's not a glamorous life, but it pays /damn/ good.">

Her free hand rises and she points at him. <"A moment ago, you were cavalier about bringing up your shipping for Resistance cells. See, now that's business I'm interested in. Or that the First Order seems interested enough to collect your shipments? Mmmm."> Sumi's voice conveys a smile. <"That sounds juicy.">

<"You want warriors, I hear you. You claim that blasting you right here and now is against my best interests. Buy my recollection is that Resistance conspirators are worth seventy-five thousand credits or more, depending upon how useful my contact finds their intelligence. You're a businessman,"> Sumi repeats. <"Tell me.. do I drag you in now for an immediate payday? Or what are you paying to levy my gun hand to remain in place? Because if I'm to direct my clan to help you and earn the ire of the First Order? I think I'll blast you and drag you in right now. Now speak without your diplomatic riddles, businessman. I'm a warrior who sees easy credits in front of her and money is your language. You've my undivided attention."> Tap. Tap. Tap.

~~

       Aliraet slips in the front door, then pause as she sees the standoff happening. Or so it seems, at least. Her fingers come to rest on the hilt of her vibrosword as she watches quietly, idly driftin towardscover. Just in case. Really, considering the firepower seems aimed away from her at the time, she's not as worried. But doesn't hurt to be sure.

       She does snag an abandoned beer off a table, popping it open, the distinct *pophiss* of the pressure equalizing perhaps breaking the tension a little bit.

Aliraet says, "Yes," she replies. "Our reputation is known. Speaking of it in this manner amounts to pandering. Answer the Alor's question.""

~~

Jarlan bares his teeth in a grin as the woman steps into his circle. Not defiant-- but he's not backing down, either. "Sure. Let's see how far that gets you," he suggests to her. 

The bottle opens and his eyes flicker towards Aliraet. Remarkably, there are a *lot* of people conspicuously absent or extremely involved in their food. But it does buy a half-beat for him to ensure his feet are firmly under him. 

"We're on the fringes out here," he reminds the Mandalorian. He turns a few degrees, steps with a lazy pace in a half-circle without making it look like he's trying to flank her. "We're on our own. People need vaporators. Banthas. Hydrospanners," he remarks. Hands spread, looking around the bar. One gestures to Kasia, in appeal. "You've been there. Supply lines interrupted. Shipments diverted," he suggests. "I'm sure everyone in this bar has at some point or another been forced to wait and watch while the galactic governments tear at each other." 

"I don't care about ideologies," he says to Sumi with a calm patience. "Everyone on Nar Shadda has dealt with the Republic or the Empire or the Order or whatever comes next. We're all just trying to survive in our own way. So that means I ship goods to whomever pays for them. Including the First Order. After all, even Moffs and admirals need their Coruscanti Star whiskey. Embargos be damned." 

It's very hard to tell if he's stating a plain fact, or subtly implicating some connections in high places.

~~

Kasia shifts her angle slightly, just enough that she can put a bit more weight on one elbow, and prop her cheek up against one fist. "Oh, I've been there," she agrees. "Waiting forever for this or that, only to find out that whatever it is was snatched by pirates so you've got to wait another month, or worse yet, you're just out the money." One foot idly bobs up and down, crystals on her shoes glittering in the neon lights everywhere. "You might be able to earn some money by simply bringing this information to the Order," she remarks to Sumi. "This guy," she motions toward Jarlan. "He seems like a salesman, but is he the details guy who can provide information on contracts? Probably not. He might be able to tell them who, but really, who is to say what they'll be interested in. I say take the information, leave the man for now. You're not going to run off, are you?" the last part is asked of Jarlan. "Not that you running off would be a problem, I'm pretty sure they could track you down if you did."

~~

"Weren't we *just* discussing how awful the weather is here?" Jarlan's tone shifts to something wry and self-deprecating. "Why would I stay on this planet if I had literally any other options?" 

His appeal is to the crowd of onlookers, and there's enough of a glimmering gallows humor in his voice to provoke a few subdued chuckles from the crowd of Not Onlookers.

~~

<"Sumi, Kasia has a good point. He will hang himself if given enough rope."> Ca'tra walks up closely to him, she is not a small woman. Standing with her breastplate nearly touching him she sniffs and pokes him gently with a gloved hand. <"Be smart and you may have some of the best security in the galaxy working for you."> She steps back to stand next to her Alor.

~~

Sumi loved it when they challenged her to violence. Her blood ignited the instant the words left his mouth and her tap tap tapping stopped. Sumi was a woman of action, and had been for nearly a century of life. He took a step around her, and Sumi stepped loudly into a stance that she was ready for battle. He may have swayed the crowd, but they'd find out soon enough that she had no qualms blasting her way through the goddamn masses to reach her target. She'd done it before, and she was /happy/ to do it again.

To punctuate the silence and end the laughter, Sumi drew her weapon in a brilliant display of handwork, flipping the weapon up in the blink of an eye and leveling the muzzle right at his face. The subtle CLICK indicated the weapon had entered a fire mode, and the dull pitched whine suggested that the receiver was a custom mod that overcharged the tibanna gas before discharging it.

Sumi's finger moves over the trigger and she pivots, prepared to fire but stopped when Kasia speaks her mind. Ca'tra's words also warrant consideration and the Mandalorian stares down the man for a moment longer. Silence had been all she had rewarded Jarlan with, and it was broken when she finally spoke.

<"So be it.">

Only two people in this vicinity could have saved Jarlan from a sure fate, and both of them spoke for his defense. Sumi's blaster retreated to its holster and slid in place with a practiced grace. There were no other parting words, no phrases or threats to commemorate Jarlan's spine in stepping up to the short warrior. She respected him more for it, but she respected Ca'tra and Kasia even more. They'd earned that.

Sumi pivoted away with a subtle swish of her cape, and strode back to the bar passing Aliraet. The pirate earned a nod from the quiet bounty hunter. Her arrival at the bar is accompanied by a fist hitting the top. <"Corellian spiced ale. Make it chilled and in a chilled mug. I want the umbrella in it. I don't care if it doesn't come with one.">

~~

       The devaronian quirks her lips in an impish smile at Sumi as she heads over, nodding back, then glances at Jarlan. "I have always found it better /not/ to declare who you are smuggling cargo to; some people prefer anonymity." Aliraet says idly, taking a deep sip from her beer. "People might take offense...outside of your clients." She motions idly to the current tableau. "Case in point." Sip.

       She can't really speak for supply line disruptions...especially since she's been responsible for a few in her time. Really, if this individual survives, she's more curious about him now...because apparently he runs cargo for rich people. Rich cargo. It's /always/ nice when people let you know who to rob.

       She drifts over to the bar after Sumi, taking a seat as well, apparently fairly sure weapons fire is less likely to break out.

       It's Nar Shadda, so there's rarely a time she feels it's unlikely to break out.

~~

Whatever Jarlan drinks, it's put some ice in his veins. He doesn't even blink at the muzzle jammed nearly in his eye socket. Even on stun at this range it'd probably put an eye out or cause some permanent harm. He just stares at the apex of the visor slit in Sumi's helmet. 

And then the weapon lowers and Sumi steps away. Jarlan's only reaction is to roll his neck once and crack it to loosen some tension, with a slow exhalation of breath. 

His head inclines towards Sumi once she's seated-- a little gesture of respect. And it turns into a bobbing nod for the whole bar, hands outspread to everyone to show that all's well. 

Alirae's words provoke a grin-- a sincere one-- and a laugh. "Why deal in pretense?" Jarlan offers with a smooth rebuttal. "Everyone on this planet is doing some kind of side hustle, aren't they? We all wonder who's dealing with whom. I like to think my honesty about it is part of the charm I bring to my customer service." 

He brushes past Kasia to find a seat and rests his hand on her shoulderblade for just a beat to convey some gratitude for her interjection. 

"Maybe this planet's not so bad. A round of drinks," he suggests to the immediate vicinity with his hands spreading again to include the Mandos and Aliraet. He looks to the clan chief and makes eye contact with her visor, palms pressing together and aiming his fingertips in her direction. "If you don't mind me picking up the tab for your umbrella, Clan chief," he says. Not backing down from the offer-- but clearly extending Sumi the courtesy of showing he respects her autonomy-- and that there are no hard feelings!

~~

Kasia is a similar picture of calm, though frankly it's a lot easier to be calm when it's not you in the sights of the blaster. That foot continues to bob idly as she watches the Mandalorian and her blaster, inclining her head slightly as the weapon lowers. The touch to her shoulder has her head turning slightly, eyes resting on Jarlan a moment. He's granted a small smile in response, and then she pushes away from the bar. "I'll have to cash in on my drink later, I need to be getting back home. It's late and eventually someone will notice I'm not there. It was an absolute delight to spend time with you all tonight, though." She gets to her feet and shoulders the strap of her bag, giving Jarlan one last smile before she turns away. On her way by, she gives Sumi a 'call me' gesture, activates her umbrella and steps back out into the storm.

~~

Sumi lifts her helmet, issuing the loud hiss that came from the pressure releasing. Her face is again revealed, the scarred side presented to Aliraet, who has taken the seat to her left side. Sumi's drink arrives in short fashion, and it was the smooth talking businessman she had to thank for the free booze. She sets her helmet down, allowing her messy dark hair to hang over her equally dark eyes and face for now.

She had no issue meeting Jarlan's gaze, but he'd find her expression did not betray much. Whether she wanted to kill him or not is not conveyed like it might be for someone who might have been a hot head. Sumi was not one of those though. Her cold dark gaze was indicative of a killer, a silent professional.

Sumi turns her head to regard the pretty Ali. "Have you plans this evening?" She asks, pointedly. The question is punctuated by the lift of her umbrella ale, and a long drink. When it's set down, Sumi grumbles. It seemed she had a lot on her mind.

"I go by Sumi. I'm not into the whole brevity thing. Save the titles for self-important assholes." She informs Jarlan.

~~

       Silvery brows raise as the pirate captain grins a bit at Sumi, looking slightly amused by the interaction between her and Jarlan, though she happily accepts the new (and more expensive) drink as her tab is picked up. 

       "I am currenty between tasks...more recruiting for crew than anything else. Oddly had one of mine come back like a stray stryll someone left wandering in the market." Aliraet shrugs slightly. "Therefore, I am simply enjoying the evening tonight....and you? No business of note?" Pale blue eyes dance slightly with a wicked humor.

~~

"Jarlan," the smooth-talking operator responds. Sure she has his name, but it's just good manners to respond in kind. He's certainly urbane enough about it. Also, Jarlan extends the introduction to Aliraet with another flashing smile and expression of good-will. "Seems like everyone on this rock is looking for work lately," he commisserates with the Devaronian woman. Jarlan's credit chit is passed through the reader and replaced in a deep breast pocket. The tension's slowly bleeding out of the bar as Sumi settles back in behind her drink. Jarlan settles into an abandoned chair, sharing the corner of the bar with Aliraet and Sumi.

"What sort of ship do you have?" he inquires of the newcomer. When his drink is delivered, he swings the base of it near the other women in an offering of a toast and clink of glass. "You running one of those stripped-down corvettes? Or one of those big deep-space cargo haulers?"

ooc also that video was liiiit

~~

"He was just my business, but I'll sort that later on like Mrs. Ashkuri suggested." Another sip. "I could have new business though." Sumi's scarred eye turns toward the pirate, giving her a once over before the bounty hunter smirks suggestively.

When Jarlan joined them, Sumi did not seem to mind. She nodded and lifted her glass to Jarlan when he provided his name; it was a gesture of mutual respect. No everyone survived standing up to a Mandalorian. That earned some respect in Sumi's book. Whatever sense of violence that had washed the place over moments before was drowned out now by the calming sound of rain. As the pair talked business, the older warrior stared ahead and watched steam rise from one of the flat-iron stoves as meat was placed atop it to sizzle. It was hard to read Sumi, or see where her thoughts took her. An idle finger ran over the vertical height of her mug, spreading the condensation without a second thought.

~~

       "Aliraet." the red-skinned woman notes, taking another deep sip from her drink. "There is always someone scrabbling to reach something better here." she agrees absently. "I prefer people with particular skills." At the question of her ship, she rests her elbow on the bar, her chin on her hand as she smirks. "A well-armed one." she notes. "Big enough to get the job done, fast enough to evade problems." She pours herself another glass as she peers over at Sumi. "I'm for new business..." she says thoughfully. "Our conversaion last time got cut a bit short..."

~~

Jarlan digs in his breast pocket and produces a translucent business card with a holochit and basic information engraved on it in black letters. 'Mundler Difflin Shipping' is prominent; 'Jarlan Teel' is just below it. The holoimage matches his face. 

"Always looking for competent captains. Ask Sumi here, she'll tell you all about it," he says with a dry tone and a flashing, white-toothed grin. 

His drink's polished off and set aside. Palms push off the bar top and he gets to his feet. "That said, I think I've pressed my luck enough for the night. I'm going to leave you ladies to it," he says, and squints at a break in the rain. "Before the weather opens up again. Bantha balls," he curses. "I'm going to have soggy socks by the time I get home." 

He taps a lazy two-fignered salute to his brow. "You two enjoy your evening," he suggests, and takes his leave of the duo.