Log:Rumble Rock Higgins
Rumble Rock Higgins
OOC Date: October 31, 2017
Location: Tatooine
Participants: Zandra naMuriel, Edaos Memphit
Zandra has brought a load of cargo to Tatooine, and since it's such a dry, dusty hot planet, she's taking a bit of a break to check out the cantina. The music is pretty good, the alcohol is nice, and the variety of beings coming and going is spectacular, even for a girl who grew up visiting many trading centers around the galaxy. So she's got a seat, and she's literally people watching. Course, she's not by herself, she brought company, having heard that this might be a somewhat dangerous place to be.
When Zandra said she wanted to travel to Tatooine, Edaos' protest wasn't about how hot it was, but rather about how dangerous it is. But, this isn't the first time she'd been able to coax him into a dangerous trip like this. After all, she has him pinned. If he doesn't go, she's going to go anyway, and she'll be unprotected. Not that he's much of an escort to begin with, at any rate. Following Zandra's lead, Edaos has a seat next to her, likely not quite as content as Zan. At least he isn't complaining too much at the moment.
Zan has a drink, and she's kicking one foot gently under the table, so it might occasionally nudge Ed's foot accidentally. There're beings of every type and shape, not to mention colour - and that might just be the band. It might almost be that the humans stick out more here, as an oddity. A couple of rough looking spacers go by talking about haulin' trouble. Zan watches them, but they keep on going.
Each time Edaos' foot is kicked by Zan's, accidentally or not, he regards it as though it were intentional, as if it were some means to help him calm down. Which, much to his dismay, seems to be working some. Though his arms are folded in front of him, finally one of the nudges his foot takes is returned albeit playfully. He does have his own drink though. Another reactor core, half consumed in front of him on their table. As Zan watches the spacers, Edaos follows her gaze, keeping himself ever vigilant.
"What do you suppose they mean?" Zan asks Ed, curiously. She laughs as he nudges her foot back. "Oh, I'm sorry - was that your foot? I'll try to stop," she says, cheeks going a little bit pink. The spacers are out of range by now, still chitchatting. They catch words here and there, parts of conversations. Zan's drink is a more simple Corellian ale, but at least she knows what she's got.
Not seeming to mind the nudging of his foot, Edaos goes as far as attempting to wrap his foot around to the inside of hers, drawing it closer playfully. With that, he gives her a teasing smirk, even, finally casting a grin of amusement her way for the first time since they got here. Those pink cheeks of course, are likely the source of it. As far as the conversation between the spacers goes, Edaos shrugs his at her. "Their lips are easy to read if you know what you're doing. They are talking about a cargo run that neither of them are willing to do. It's too dangerous, one of them is saying. The hold up seems to be the massive amount of credits involved though."
Zan blinks, frowning at Ed. "You can read their lips?" Now she looks over, curious to see if she can do the same. But by now that group has moved on, and she cannot. "I wonder what the cargo is - a lot of credits sounds good, but there's always a catch, right?" Then she grins. "I'm going to get drink refills and see if the bartender has any juicy gossip to share."
With Zan's foot pulled in by his, Edaos uses his free foot to tap at the other side of Zan's, now both of his feet are tapping away at hers. Peeling his attention from his foot work below to Zan as she speaks, Edaos gives her a grin and a nod. "There are a lot of nifty things I can do." He remarks before catching the bit about her going to listen to the gossip the bartender might provide. With that, he releases her captured foot and moves to stand, ready to follow her with a slight sigh. "Alright, let's go see what he's got to say." Saying that, Ed picks up his drink and offers a hand out towards Zan.
Zan peers at Ed. "you could just stay here," she says quietly. "Save the table?" Though she doubts that's going to work well at all. "Or come with." Her foot is free now, and she hastily gets to her feet, keeping said foot out of Ed's way. Mostly. The offered hand gets a grin, but she leaves her empty glass on the table while accepting Ed's hand. "Fine then, c'mon, let's see if - Durhar? Was that his name? Let's see if he has anything interesting to tell us."
Helping to pull Zandra to her feet, Edaos shakes his head at her. "I'm going with you. That's the bottom line." He says before starting off in the direction of the bar, her hand still held as long as she doesn't pull it away. Which does seem to put him even more at ease, at least. "Yea, Durhar. Bartenders usually only have one of two things in mind. Credits, or sex. We're going to have to try to bribe this guy. So to get his interest, we'll play at being merchants with a vice of smuggling spice." Saying all of this, it might seem a bit odd that Edaos knows how to handle the lower rings of the galaxy so well.
Zan doesn't pull her hand away, until Ed comes out with that bit of cover. Her gaze is on his face incredulously for a long moment. "We - what?" she asks, sounding startled. And then she laughs. "Can't other folks read our lips too?" Somehow, it seems to her that this just might not be the best of places to talk about cover stories. Never mind how Ed knows what sort of cover story to use.
Edaos is two steps ahead of Zan, his attention on the bartender watching for signs that the sentient has been paying attention to the pair. "We only need to worry about him and the staff and..." Just then he stops talking, catching sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Rather than explaining anything to Zan just yet, he lets out a fake laugh at something Zandra supposedly said. "You're right love, another run and we'll be able to get Telic more plushies than our baby girl will know what to do with." He says in a quickly assumed Corellian accent. Of course, at that point they are right up in front of the bartender, Edaos' drink coming to his lips to finish the drink off. Apparently they are also a married couple? The ruse is quickly assumed by Edaos, at any rate.
Not like Zan knows what Ed just saw, but she's apparently reasonably quick to come up with figuring out that he is up to something. So she smiles at him, and then laughs. "Only one? I think it might need to be two or three, given the pricing on those plushies. But she's worth it. And perhaps this time next year she'll have a baby brother." Now how's that for a distracting thought, Ed? Zan let's go of Ed's hand, smiling at the bartender. "Another round, my friend?" she asks, starting with that.
Being the hard egg to that he is to crack when it comes to working like this, Edaos doesn't seem to peel his attention away for even a moment when Zandra mentions them having 'another baby'. Laughing pleasantly at his 'wife', Edaos nods his head at Zandra, grinning at her. "You are ever so right, dear." He says in his assumed Corellian accent before peeling his attention to the bartender, Wuher, who seems to regard the pair suspiciously. At least, Wuher does begin to prepare that requested drink for Zandra. "Tell me sir, what do you think. How many spice runs do you think it will take before we get poor Telic, say, twelve full sized Wookiee plushies?" Edaos replies towards the figure with a grin. Seemingly, Edaos doesn't think anyone here would pay particular attention to the word 'spice' being mentioned so openly.
Zan waits for the drinks, and she makes sure to tip the bartender generously. Not overly so, because she doesn't have that much to spend, but enough that the bartender knows his service is appreciated. And perhaps enough so to get him to at least start to answer questions? Maybe. Zan tips her stein of ale, with a grin. "Thanks," she says to the bartender. "Here's to profitable cargo runs."
The high tip is certainly appreciated. Every bit of their story seems to be believed, even. Wuher furrows his brow at the pair, tilting his head at them. "Thank you, misses." Wuher says to Zandra as he pockets the earned credits. Towards Edaos, the bartender peers and shrugs his shoulders. "Depends on what kind of cargo runs you get going on. If you run the right stuff, you can afford thirty plushies from one run." Of course, this seems to pull Edaos' attention easily, the spy raising his eyebrows with false surprise. "My, now -that- would be the run to make. Tell me, who might someone talk to to get involved in a cargo run like that?" Edaos asks back towards the bartender, his fake accent lingering professionally.
Zan isn't bothering to even try a fake accent - she doesn't know enough about it and probably wouldn't be very good at it besides. Her drink is however held in midair as her gaze goes to the bartender. "I have to agree; that sounds like the cargo to be carrying, it does." Her grey eyes don't have to fake her surprise even. The Providence never shipped anything illegal, at least so far as Zan knows. So this whole idea is definitely new to her. Course that might only make the story seem more true. Young. Fearless. Stupid. Just who you want to be hauling dangerous or illicit cargo, right? Zan's expression shows her interest, her posture is alert but not overly so. Not aggressive, just curious. Wary.
On the other end of the spectrum, everything about what Edaos is doing is very well faked. He isn't even in the slightest emotionally invested in the conversation, but that's not something you could determine by the way he acts. Wuher's brow continues to furrow at the pair, shaking his head at Edaos' remark. "The tip your lovely wife her gave me is good, but it ain't that good, buddy." Clearly not very good at being subtle about asking for a bribe. "If I knew anyone like that, I would just give that sort of information away freely." He remarks, Edaos likely anticipating that from the bartender. To which, Edaos furrows his own brow. "Well, I'm sure we can come to an arrangement, good sir. Tell me, how much would that sort of information cost us?" Edaos asks towards the bartender in a practiced sort of way.
Might be that our young married couple is catching a bit of attention from some of the other patrons of this fine establishment. There's a couple of 'em, whispering over at a table not far away. One nudges the other, glances towards Zan and Ed, and then nods his head. The other grunts.
Zan, oblivious to anyone watching them, turns her attention even more on the bartender, who starts off with "Oh, for something like that, I'm sure it would be the expensive liquor. At least a thousand credits worth." Zan arches a brow. "That's some expensive hooch," she replies, now somewhat in her element, and showing why she's part of this couple. "You sure about that? I Mean, surely you've misread the pricetag? It's probably more like ten or maybe a hundred?" The haggling begins.
Haggling is very much -not- Edaos' profession. Mind you, he's familiar with the craft, but this is something that he'll leave for Zandra to handle. What -is- his business is keeping Zandra safe. Which means that when there are a couple of brutes staring the pair of them down, Edaos ought to be cognitive of it. He is too, catching the pair of thugs seated in at their table across the way a bit out of the corner of his eye. That does not mean, however, that Edaos is ready to break their facade just yet. The information is filed away in the back of his head for now, keeping his attention ever aware for any other important details.
Zan would say she's a novice trader, but the big bartender suddenly has a bit of dawning respect on his face. He's been around for a while, will be around after these two are long gone, but! Hey, they might be worth getting a few credits off of, for some information. "750" he counters with, along with a story about how the alcohol in question cost him blood, sweat and the life of the party. "250" Zan returns with, along with comments about how he's trying to keep her daughter from having the plushie she absolutely loves, and how can he break a child's heart like that?" In the end, they settle at a price, in the middle, as both expected. Zan remains oblivious to the rest of the cantina during this discussion, her attention and passion for the job showing.
Ever aware that they are being watched, Edaos waits until the price tag is developed between Zandra and the bartender. Which is likely because he knows that that's what the pair of thugs are waiting for as well. While this is a shady place, you can't just cause trouble right here and now. Better to mug the couple when they leave, and bully the information about the cargo run out of them. So Edaos waits, pretending to be oblivious to the thugs that are planning on attacking them as soon as they leave. Instead, Edaos continues with the facade about being married with Zandra, even going along with the bit about the bartender keeping plushies from their 'daughter'.
With the negotiations done, Zan actually hands over the credits, and the bartender passes over another round. All nice and good. Of course, along with the alcohol, there's a small piece of paper with a name and contact info on it, but that's very discretely handled. Zan nods her head to the bartender. "Pleasure," she says. "You have the best brew on the planet. C'mon, darling, we should go settle down and finish our drinks, and let Wuher here do his work." She might have read the sign at the bar that says who is on duty.
The business done now, Edaos dips his head in a nod at the bartender, false smile easily on his expression at the man. "Truely an honor doing business with you." He says before turning his attention back towards Zandra. "Yes, one more round of drinks, love and I think we head out. We've got business to attend to, after all." He remarks as he offers his hand back out towards her to walk back to their table. The thugs are getting antsy too, but Edaos knows he needs to draw out their time for as long as he can, waiting for more information to present itself to him.
Zan settles into her seat, relaxing with her drink. The info is pocketed, into a nice hideyhole on her flight suit. "True enough. I expect that the crew will wait for us. I have the key after all." Ship don't fly without her pilot, that's the truth. She is still oblivious to any mugging thoughts, but now her attention goes to Ed. "No kidnapping my foot though, please." Cause really flirting attempts are all they have to worry about now right?
If anyone is going to have that slip of paper, the whole reason they are at risk of being mugged, it's Edaos. Not that he doesn't trust Zandra, mind you. Quite the opposite, really. The hideyhole that Zandra slips the paper into is quickly pilfered, the slip of paper finding it's way into a pocket of his instead. Smiling at Zandra as they sit down, Edaos shakes his head at her. "No promises." He says with a wink. After a while, the drinks are consumed and the pair are likely ready to leave. The thugs, being every bit of impatient have been almost gawking at them the entire time. Even, there has been a time or two the they were ready to hop out of their seats and chase Zan and Ed down right then and there. Which, of course, was all part of Edaos' plan. Probably.
Zandra is perhaps getting a little bit used to Ed's ways. He might have to get trickier in future. The pilfering is actually spotted, but this is not the place to make a scene about it, so Zan stays quiet. Instead, she finishes her drink quietly. Once they are ready to leave, she gets to her feet and heads to the exit, pausing to catch Ed's hand, just like there's nothing wrong.
Convinced that Zandra is oblivious to Ed's pickpocketing, Edaos holds her hand just as easily as they begin to make their way for the door. Although Ed can't particularly see them, the thugs behind them are now standing, following the couple in a broken attempt to appear discreet about it. As they leave the cantina entirely, Edaos gives Zandra's hand a more firm squeeze than he normally would when expressing his affection. Rather, it's intended to imply some degree of concern to her. When they are out of ear shot of anyone, even including the thugs, he whispers to her, his gaze not shifting at all. "Be ready to run." He warns.
Zandra glances up at Ed at that firm squeeze, her brow furrowing slightly. Which of course puts her in just the right spot to hear that whisper, quite easily. Her eyes widen, and she swallows, but she just nods her head. At that moment, she doesn't trust her voice. Her fingers squeeze tightly to Ed's, as though she's making sure to not let go. And then she manages a soft squeak, "Say when."
Ducking down an allyway, -just- outside of the thug's view, Edaos squeezes Zandra's hand again. As soon as he squeezes her hand, he opens into a sprint down the ally, not saying a word. At least, he isn't going to leave Zandra behind no matter what happens. So if it takes her a second to catch on, Edaos slows himself to make sure he isn't full on dragging Zandra. Just after they start running the thugs round the corner, shouting at the pair and picking up their own pace.
Zan takes a deep breath, just in time, and when Ed starts to sprint, she does her best to keep up with him. She's got shorter legs, so not as fast as he is, but she's worried enough that she floors it, and races for the ship as fast as she can. She may not have realized exactly why, but the sound of shouting behind them gives wings to her feet.
Edaos, however, is quite a fast runner. When he takes off, he does stay mostly a head of Zandra, not in the least ready to release her hand. Which means he isn't going -too- much faster than her. Thankfully, it is enough to get the pair quite a bit ahead of the thugs behind them. Those two must not have anticipated that Edaos was on to them, as they were taken by surprise when Edaos and Zandra start making a run for it. There is still quite a bit of ground to cover though. Which means that Edaos isn't going to directly try to lead Zandra to the ship just yet. Instead, he pulls her down an ally, trying to find a good place to hide.
Zandra is out of breath though, not so in shape as Ed seems to be. She's a pilot and trader, not a runner and hider. She is pulled towards the alley which is the only reason she goes that way. And as Ed hides, Zan tries to hide. She accidentally kicks a cannister thrown out by someone and it goes clankety clank clank over towards the entrance of the alley. She does try to hide, but well - she is wearing a flight suit so she's bulkier than usual, and the light just loves the violet shade of her hair. So she's not really very well hidden at all.
Thankfully, despite Zandra almost giving away their position, the thugs that have been chasing them aren't very intelligent. As they pass the ally that Zandra and Edaos are hiding in, they regard the cannister as though it were knocked over by a rodent rather than a fully grown, terrible sneak. Edaos seems to be right in his element, however. He is easily concealed behind a dumpsterm watching the thugs as they peel off to keep looking for the pair. With that, Edaos looks towards Zandra and offers his hand out to her again. "Come on, try to walk quietly if you can. We've got to stay low if we're to get to the ship without trouble." He whispers, walking in a low crouch in the direction of the ship as long as Zandra takes his hand again.
Zandra tries, she really does. But she's nervous, and she's never done this before, and well, she's not so good at being a sneak, unlike Ed. So, she starts off okay, but if there's anything underfoot that can snap, crackle or pop, her feet find it. And it snaps, crackles or pops. Loudly.
With each snap, crackle or pop that Zandra makes, Edaos flinches as he leads her to what he had hoped would be safety. As the pair are making their way down another ally, the thugs do eventually catch on to them. "Sithspit, run!" Ed shouts, picking himself back up into a run as he leads Zandra closer to the ship. Soon they are bursting from the streets and the ship is visible just ahead of them. However the thugs are closing in behind them and they may even catch the two before they reach it.
Uh oh! "I'm sorry," Zandra says, knowing she's making noise as they try to go quietly. "Risky, get the ship ready. We're coming in hot," she says, using her comm. Hey, yes, she did leave the droid on the ship, go figure! And then she tries to run, but shes trips over maybe her own foot, and half stumbles as she tries to start running.
The thugs are certainly closing on them. The ship is -right there-, but as Zandra trips, Edaos slows down to make sure she regains her footing. "We're almost there Zan, keep going!" He shouts, not particularly -trying- to put the pressure on her. But, well... They are close. Keeping his stride as best he can, Edaos runs with Zan's hand in his towards the ship.
Zan has to dig deep into her stubborn core, but she does, pushing to run as fast as she can. There is terror on her face, lending speed to her feet. And despite that near fall, she manages to scrabble herself back to something approaching speed. It might not be fast, but it's fast enough. The ship is there, the ramp lowering, and Zan races up it, collapsing at the top, Ed's hand still in hers. "Close the ramp. Close it, close - " she manages, gasping for breath.
Panting heavily, Zandra isn't the only one to collapse at the top of the ramp. Zandra's hand still in his, Edaos looks out of the ship towards the thugs who stop their sprint when the boarding ramp begins to lift back up. "That. Was. Close." Edaos huffs, trying to catch his breath. Almost with out even thinking, Edaos leans in and plants a kiss right on Zandra's cheek as long as she doesn't pull away. This is done as he begins to pull himself back up to his feet. "Remind me why we go to dangerous places again?" He asks, with another huff.
Zandra doesn't say anything for a long moment. She doesn't pull away from that kiss on her cheek either. She does get to her knees, pulling up and ready to stand, as she regains her breath. "Because we get all the fun things that way?" she replies cheekily. "Like that information from the bartender. Please give it back to me now."
Zan holds out a hand expectantly.
Blinking a bit with surprise, Edaos nods his head as he withdraws the slip of paper from his pocket and hands it to her without delay. Certainly he wasn't trying to keep the information from her, rather, he really was concerned about her safety. "Sorry." Ed admits, suddenly looking perhaps a bit remorseful. "Saw that, did you?" He inquires, frowning at her with every bit of remorse showing on his expression.
Zan - is a promising young entrepreneur. She takes the paper, watching Ed's expression as she looks at it. "I did, yes," she says. "But it wasn't the place to bug you about it." She wrinkles her nose briefly, and then she says, "Why did you do that?" Because she's not a mind reader, and she really is curious. She gets to her feet and smooths out the paper, checking both sides.
This is where the darker side of Edaos peeks back up again. "Those crooks would have only wanted that slip of paper. If you had it on yourself, they would have gone after you. If I had it though... Well..." Edaos pauses, leaning against the ship as he talks to Zandra. At least she doesn't seem mad at him just yet. "I was going to give it back when we were in the clear. I promise. I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't pay too much attention to you. I made sure they both saw me take it from you too."
Zan blinks. "well, why don't they just ask the barkeep for one for themselves?" she grumbles. "I mean, wouldn't that be easier?" She shakes her head, and passes the paper back to Edaos. "Rumble Rock Higgins? D'you have any idea who that might be? Or is it a place?"
Zandra still doesn't seem to be mad at Edaos. Even, she's offering the stolen piece of paper back to him. With that, he reaches for it, taking the paper and examining it close for a moment before shrugging his shoulders at Zandra. Offering it back to her, he shakes his head at her. "I've never heard of it... Or them. But I can find out for you." He offers, curling his lips into a smile that hints at the last of his remorse being washed away.
