In the Company of Strangers

[Henry McDonnaught]

The MC18 had handled like a dream. Oh sure, it was no x-wing - didnt have the maneuverability or the speed of his usual craft, but for a rebel transport dressed as a civilian freighter -- she weren't too shabby.

The trip to Bespin had been uneventful. The Black Man (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?p=220259#post220259)had smoothed out any customs gliches or red tape annoyances quite thoroughly, so that Henry 'Donut' McDonnaught and his droid had enjoyed a pleasant and uneventful journey to the System.

Stepping now into the welcoming interior of the Cloud Nine Bar & Grill, Hank almost felt the part he was here to play. Himself, as a civi-cargo pilot stopping in for a drink and dropping off a package. A smile for the pretty waitress here, a shuffle of a chair to the left there and McDonnaught set himself comfortably in a plush lounger at a low table and looked around for a familiar face. But not just any familiar face. The one in Captain Hush-hush-need-to-know-soldier holoprojector's image. Henry felt he knew the man. Not Capt cloak and dagger - no one would ever really know him, Henry was certain - but the wierd lookin little fellow with whom he was supposed to meet.

Cloud City, rest stop for the weary Imperial and other travellers was just like any other bar, really, that Henry might frequent. Except for all the off duty Imperial pilots that is. He guessed he should be nervous, being Alliance and all. But somehow, Henry just couldnt work up any jitters. For some reason, he felt almost at home.

"Corellian beer, please Miss" he added a smile with his request and the waitress nodded indicating that she'd caught both it and his order as she sashayed by, the tray in her hand loaded with empty glasses and balanced perfectly.

"O-kay.." Hank muttered to no one in particular, his eyes roving the premises, "where are you, odd little dude.."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Whatta ya mean it's a non-smoking bar?!?" the guttural voice cut through the music like a vibroblade.

He'd just lit up a very nice (and expensive) cigar. As the flavors began to coalesce in his mouth, a serving droid wandered up to him.

"I'm sorry sir," the droid stated, its vocabulator as placating as possible, "But the Cloud 9 Bar and Grill does not allow smoking of any kind."

"You gotta be frackin' kidding me!" Aurelias Kazaar's voice hadn't dropped its incredulous tone. Or its volume.

"We're in 'Port Town' f'brix sake, not some kinda 'high'n mighty casino'. What koochu came up with that idea?"

"I believe it was our current owner, Mirko Spendrim."

"Spenny?" now Kazaar couldn't believe it at'all. That damn info junkie'd gotten his hands on something and made it into some kinda health club.

"Lemme talk t'him."

If the serving droid could have shaken its head, it woulda, "I'm afraid not, Mister Spendrim is quite busy. Ever since Miss Satach went on vacat-"

"Look ya Tinny, I don't care if he's fracking some kinda Twi'lek, go get 'im now!"

The droid repeated its previous statement about 'Spenny' being busy, then made some vague warning about fighting.

"Fine!" Kazaar grumped.

It was bad enough Kazaar had t'leave 'The Twins' (his silver Bryar-pistols) with the doorman.

Plus his two vibro-blades.

And his holdout blaster.

If he didn't hafta meet some guy here forra job, he wouldn't have show up. But he'd gotten a message 'bout it from 'The Black Man', saying he needed t'be in Cloud 9, after he took care o'Ghlar Timandar.

So here he was, resting his laurels when he could be checking on 'The Kid'. She wasn't outta the hospital yet, but 'parently would be in the next week or so. And Kazaar wanted t'be there for that. 'Specially since 'er dad had talked to him about a job.

Kazaar'd gotten his black hair cut short, a more suitable length in his mind. It wasn't as hot, plus he'd preferred it this way.

'Sides...he was outta prison, he sure as hell wasn't gonna have his hair the same length as it was when he was in. That just wasn't right.

"Got any Alderaanian Brandy?" he glared at the droid, as the cigar finally went out. It was wrapped inna piece of durasheet and stuck back in its black case.

"Yes sir we have 36 kinds of Alderaanian Brandy, ranging from just before its destruction to-"

Kazaar gave 'a look', "Just gimme one which is twelve years old."

"Is there a particular kind you would like? We have everything from Orga-"

"Ya know," the former bounty hunter interrupted, "Why don't'cha gimme the best...all right?"

A minute later and a glass was placed in front of him. Kazaar drained it in one gulp, then slammed it on the counter.

"Gimme another."

Droids...frackin' metalheads.

Kazaar swore if he saw Spenny, he was gonna berate him for makin' the bar non-smoking.

The frackin' nerve of the guy.

He took the second drink and drank it...slower this time.

No way he was not gonna enjoy this drink. Not at 25 credits a glass.

Frackin' Spenny.

[Mirko Spendrim]

Business was hopping tonight. Spendrim got an odd little thrill every time a patron entered the Cloud Nine Bar and Grill. This was his baby -- albeit temporarily -- but his self-esteem had rocketed since he took management here, and the feeling had left him in a near state of euporia ever since.

Not only was there an omnipresent smile of joy on his face, Mirko now had an extra spring in his step. His dated and somewhat drab little suits had taken on an air or "dapperism" so that instead of looking like a fashion bottom-feeder, he came across as some ecclectic trend setter, which- bizare as it was, some of the more regular frequenters to the bar were copying. There were three tonight alone who wore a blazer with checks of some description and a mismatched tie.

But tonight, Mirko's happiness stemmed not just from his unexpected personal success - but from the fact an old friend was to be here and Spendrim was excited at how impressed Aurelias Kazaar was going to be!

Stepping from foot to foot, the anxious little man craned his neck forward, examing head-tops amongst the crowd. A Bothan, a Bith, a Dug, aha, Bounty Hunter! Mirko straightened his tie, brushed his jacket down with his neat little hands and hurried over to where Kazaar sat nursing a bourbon and squinting out with those black eyes of his, at nothing and everything in the room at once.

Presenting himself before the bounty hunter, idiotic grin on his face, Mirko welcomed Kazaar to Cloud City.

"Aurelias! You look great--did you cut your hair? It looks fantastic. It really suits you like that" He gave Kazaar a hug and immediately released him. That was how you hugged Aurelias, too fast for him to avoid you and then make sure you let go just as quick so you didnt get knifed for it. Kinda like hugging an angry Wampa, Mirko imagined.

"How do I look?" Mirko asked, transparently fishing for approval. "Hey, is that a new scar around your eye?"

[Aurelias Kazaar]

In an absentminded fashion (like when someone points out the obvious), Kazaar rubbed the skin around his left eye. It was a new scar and a rather larger one at that, going around his eye in an almost 'star-like' fashion. Like most scars it would fade away into (almost) nothingness in about two weeks but, at the moment, it made Kazaar look like some type of holovid character.

"Yeh, got it a week ago, Spenny what the hell is wrong with you?!?" the former bounty hunter's tone was not going t'let the info broker ignore the question, "Makin' this place non-smoking? What in the blue nerf were ya snortin' when ya came up with that genius idea?"

Spenny's didn't bother to ponder his thought, "Well, Aurelias, when you think about it...it will prolong your life to no-"

"Ya know...I don't care," Kazaar snorted, taking a gulp of his drink, then motioned with a black-gloved hand for another.

"Also if you wouldn't drink as-"

"I said...I didn't care, Spenny," the glare was one which would normally send people into fits, but Spendrim didn't notice. He was too pleased with his bar.

"How the hell didja get this place anyway? Whadja do...charm it offa some chick?" he smirked.

That part he did want t'know.

[Henry McDonnaught]

Henry's beer was almost gone, with only a third of the amber ale remaining to chill his glass. He'd waved off the pretty server mid-approach, he was not ready yet for another.

He recognized his contact, who was across at another table engaged in animated conversation with a man who may-or-may-not be the recipient of The Black Man's envelope. McDonnaught would have to wait his turn, it seemed, as the little man appeared to be just warming up in whatever story he was telling. Donut hoped it would not be some epic. He wanted to do his delivery and boot it back off to base.

Trying to look bored, and not at all interested in Mirko and the bounty hunter, McDonnaught drummed his fingers absently on the table.

[Mirko Spendrim]

"Its just temporary, something Im tryin" Spendrim said, looking around with pride. "The non-smoking thing, I mean. Oh, but the job is temporary too. I thought I'd see how the fume-free environment might impact business, like an experiment." It was sometimes hard to keep Mirko on one linear topic after another when he was excited. "Im just looking after things while Ms Satach is out of town." He'd flipped back to topic number two and Kazaar's frown deepened as he tried to follow. "She's the owner. Beautiful and smart." He stated like he was one in the know. "Not many people like the change" he added, a trifle deflated. It wasnt really clear if Mirko was referring to the new no-smoking rule or the change in proprietorship, but Kazaar laid odds that either was a safe bet.

"You know you scared my droid. Was that really necessary Aurelias?"

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"You can tell when those things get scared?" Kazaar smirked, taking another gulp from his glass.

Th'only reason he knew when 'Trey', his R7 droid got 'scared' was the sound of the *twirl* he gave out.

"I'm impressed."

Mirko paused tryin' t'figure out if Kazaar was being sarcastic or not. He never got th'chance 'cause his friend (or something...Spenny never did know if Kazaar treated all his friends like that. Probably...given the info he'd found 'bout Aurelias and Gorgja the Hutt).

"All I did was ask th'same question I asked ya...'What genius came up with th'non-smoking rule'."

Another smirk, "Didn't think our time on Spindrift (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14803) was that bad..."

He trailed off, then gave a sideways look t'Spenny, as if to say, "Don't ya dare answer that."

The former bounty hunter changed the subject, "So'm supposed t'meet a guy here 'bout some business. 'Parently he's a frienda yours."

[Mirko Spendrim]

"He's a friend of a friend, you might say" he responded with a grin. Mirko loved to be ambiguous from time to time - made him feel more cloak-and-daggerish, like he knew alot more than he really did and was a major part of the purple-circle.

What he really was, was a middleman.

He ploughed on, "I'll send him over to you. He's got some package from "The Black Man". Oooh, that sounds scary"

Kazaar withered his attempted humor with a bland stare.

"Right. I'll send him over."

[Henry McDonnaught]

After receiving the surrepticious 'go-ahead' nod from his contact, Mirko, across the room and the man's then departure from the seated bounty hunter to whom the package was to be delivered, Henry made his move.

He lifted himself out of the low chair, left some credits for his beer on the table beside the empty glass and meandered his way over in Kazaar's general direction.

Stopping beside Aurelias as if he'd just noticed him for the first time, Henry addressed him.

"Hey pal, dont I know you?"

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Yeh," Kazaar replied. He'd been in enough situations t'know this was his mark.

"We met on Corellia once...b'fore the war."

A smirk, "Ya still flying that old piece o'crap Gymsnor-2?"

McDonnaught replied without a hitch, "No, got me a new MC18. Heard a rumor you wanted to get a new EE-3 carbine."

A nod from Kazaar, "Yeh...let's do business. Somewhere quieter tho...too loud f'my tastes."

Spendrim was trying to follow the conversation as quickly as he could. Blasters? Freighters? Wasn't this supposed to be some sort of 'spying thing'?

"C'mon Spenny," the former bounty hunter clapped the middleman on his shoulder, "Let's hit ya office. You set up this deal afta all."

"Why not here?" Mirko was excited, but confused. Why his office?

The trio began working their way through th'crowd towards the back room. The lights hardly darkened as they made their way uppa flight of stairs to a brown sliding door.

"'Cause," Kazaar said, fishing for his cigar, "I wanna smoke...and a drunk Imp's still an Imp."

He smirked, lighting the cigar.

No idiotic serving droids t'tell him not t'smoke here.

"Whatta ya got flyboy?"

[Henry McDonnaught]

The door slid closed behind them and Henry gave a shrug - if these guys figured this was a good place for the exchange, who was he to think otherwise.

He pulled the manila envelope from the depths of his flightjacket. It was a bit rumpled and bent, but no one seemed to care. Kazaar took it from him and immediately opened it, tearing the one end open with a deft zip of his fingers.

The bounty hunter registered no expression, bad or good, upon reading the contents.

"S'Everything's in order?" Henry queried. He didn't really know where to go from here, being much in the dark as he was. The Black Man from SpecOps - Donut had unearthed that much about the Captain from the idle speculations he'd heard about the base just before he'd left for Bespin - had not given him orders other than to make the delivery. Henry planned to follow instruction to a "t".

"We good here, then?"

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Almost," Kazaar wasn't lookin' at the pilot.

He reached into a black pocket, pulling out a couple hundred creds.

"Go to one'a the casinos and have fun. Ya weren't told when t'show back up were ya?"

Kazaar gave a sly smile, taking the whole envelope, durasheet and all, then tossed it into a metal wastebasket near Spenny's desk. A moment later'n Kazaar dropped a match into th'receptacle and the contents started t'burn.

"No!" Spendrim's eyes widened, "You could burn us all!"

The former bounty hunter snorted, "Relax Spenny...I won't burn us down."

As Mirko walked to the wastebasket, Kazaar caught the tail end of a news feeder on th'holoscreen above the desk.

McDonnaught caught it too but only the end.

-mandar found on Denevar, flayed and beheaded.

Kazaar smirked and took a puff offa his cigar.

"Have fun out there flyboy. Just don't lose ya ship."

[Mirko Spendrim]

Mirko was going to press his complaint at the spontaneous cookout in his office waste basket, but decided against it - that smirk of Kazaar's, coming on the tail end of the ticker newsflash, gave him the willies.

Instead, he turned to the pilot. "The Bombossa Goldrush is a fun joint" he advised Henry, "though stay away from the sabaac table - those guys are all business there"

[Henry McDonnaught]

Henry declined the credits Kazaar offered. He'd seen the smirk too, but that wasn't the reason he didn't accept the money. Well, not the only reason.

"Thanks for the offer mate, but gotta be on my way. My boss isn't much of a one for fun and games on company time, if ya know what I mean"

Henry felt sure the bounty hunter did.

He bobbed his head to both Kazaar and Mirko in farewell, "Nice meetin' you both" and turned toward the door.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Hey," the smirk on Kazaar's face hadn't changed, "That exactly th'reason to stay 'round here forra week.

"He tell ya when t'come back?"

McDonnaught's face didn't change its expression. He was still planning to leave, "Well no..."

"So take th'damn creds," the former bounty hunter was insistent, "War're still b'going on when ya get back.

"Less of course," another puff from th'cigar, "Ya really got somewhere t'be."

Kazaar's expression said what his words didn't, 'What's her name?'

[Henry McDonnaught]

"Huh?"

It took Henry a moment to pick up the thread of Kazaar's insinuation. His last name wasnt the only reason he was called Donut.

"Oh, no -- no where I gotta be. Thats a whole other kind of trouble"

Henry spoke from sour experience.

"But..I suppose one quick stop wouldn't do any harm.."

He still wasn't sure, but he was not against having his arm twisted a little.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"There ya go, Flyboy," the smirk held, "Finally thinkin' with ya head."

Kazaar started t'leave the office. McDonnaught might not have t'be somewhere, but he did. And he wasn't gonna b'late either.

"Bombassa Gold Rush is a nice place. Nice lookin' girls too.

"Have fun, Flyboy."

He was almost out th'door when he turned around, "Oh yeah...tell ya boss, I really do want that EE-3. By th'next time I see 'im.

"And you," Kazaar pointed at Spenny, "Don't change a good thing."

Leaving a cloud of smoke behind, Kazaar strode outta the office.

A moment later a *crash* was heard as one of the serving droids tried t'tell Kazaar there was, "No smoking in the Cloud 9 Bar."

No frackin' way that was gonna happen again.