Corellian Swagger

[Rathe Maris]

Rathe looked at the little dump of cantina called Glumpies tavern. It was buried in the warehouse district of Coronet City for some odd reason. It really didn't matter despite its location and run down look Glumpies was probably the best place on the whole planet of Corellia to grab a drink. Rathe had met several intriguing figures since he first stepped foot in the bar at the age of fourteen.

Glumpies was like a second home not only a place to meet random knew faces but sometimes you could find an odd job or two needing done. For someone like Rathe any job was a good one except maybe whoring. Lucky for Rathe he never had to sink that low no there was always something else needing done.

Rathe stepped into Glumpies and the Barmaid that looked like she was strung out on liquid spice smiled a half toothless grin at Rathe. Rathe gave her a smile and nodded head towards a table off in the corner as if to say bring my drink over there. In fact that is exactly what he was saying she knew what his poison was. He then made his way to his corner booth taking a seat. He carefully scoped out the room looking for anyone who seemed to be look for some sort of help.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Thjiss place lookss ljike a bantha sslaughterrhouse."

Taataani spoke low to Taurrifar, her manservant, as they entered the bar. To be fair, she had a pretty good idea of what she was getting into in coming here, and she was undaunted. She'd been spending time looking at business plots all around Coronet City's warehouse district, and she was convinced she could buy up parcels and inject some money into the area and turn it into a revitalization project. A lot of the older buildings had the same sort of brutalist Corellian aesthetic that she loathed, but she knew there were people on this planet with credits who would eat that sort of thing up.

"Get me a drrjink."

She shooed Taurrifar off to get her something while she stood in the center of the room, taking the establishment, and all of its denizens, in with a mildly curious glance. Her eyes eventually settled on a human who had likewise taken it upon himself to look around. Her ears twitched slightly in irritation at the jarring song the jukebox was playing.

At last, a drink was pushed into her hands by Taurrifar, and looking at her mate, she quaffed a few gulps of it. If she remembered right, it was a blue dragon, and mixed amateurishly and with cheap liquor. Not that she came here for a drink, though.

"Who jiss the ownerr of thjiss barr?"

Obviously not the barkeep, no. She would be lucky to recite her own name.

Again, she looked to the human in the corner. Not him, either.

[Talus Longstar]

Like just about everyone who walked through the door of Glumpies Tavern, he didn't want to be there. The smell of smoke and sweat was almost too much to handle and forced Talus to take a moment to catch his breath, somehow finding a lungful of oxygen amongst the haze. The barmaid twitched her head at him when he neared the counter, her eyes roaming all over him with the discretion of a Wookiee in heat.

“Vinny about?”

“You want what?” she squawked, as the jukebox wailed louder.

Talus leaned in closer, wondering if his brother was really so hard up that he couldn't afford a bartender with more than two brain cells to rub together.

“I said, is Vinny about?”

[Rathe Maris]

As he peered around the room his sites stopped on well he wasn't exactly sure what her species was. A Humanoid feline but it seemed oddly different from a Cathar. Not that Rathe was exactly well versed on different types of Cathar or anything. Closest he ever got to known about the race was there name just before one knocked his lights out in bar fight.

The feline was now staring back at him but only for a second before her male companion arrived with her drink. As her attention was drawn away Rathe's gaze drifted to other occupants in the bar. He stopped at the barmaid who was supposed to be bringing him a drink but the lazy wench was chatting up some poor smuck. No scratch that Rathe watch the man little longer, the man had been in this bar a few times before. Rathe had noticed him before but avoided him like the plague something about him said cop.

Maybe it was in the way he walked or spoke to others but Talus just had that look to Rathe. Cops where only good at doing two things. One screwing up your well thought out plans and two taking away your hard earned money with a fine of some sort.

Rathe could feel eyes on him again as he looked back to see the cat lady looking his way again. Rathe gave her a quizzical look with quark of his right eyebrow. He wondered what she wanted in a place like this, maybe she had little money that she was willing to share.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani's eyes moved to the newcomer in the bar, who was obviously dressed with more taste than the rest of the establishment. Sensing that as a sign, she strolled to the bar. Taurrifar was already ahead of her, pulling out a barstool adjacent to the man so she could take a seat. Her expectant hand raised to the side, and the manservant produced a freshly-clipped cigar and a lighter, assisting Taataani with the light so she could place her attention on the other man as she spoke.

"jI couldn't help but notjice jyou'rre one of the few people jin herre wjithout an ojil sstajin on thejirr clothjing and a ssad djisspossjition."

Purple smoke curled from her cigar as she looked to Talus.

"jYou wouldn't happen to be the ownerr of thjiss esstabljisshment, would jyou?"

[Talus Longstar]

The cigar made his nose wrinkle and reminded Longstar of a time or place that he couldn't put a finger on, some memory as hazy as the smoke itself.

“Who's asking?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Opporrtunjitjy."

Speaking matter-of-factly from behind her cigar, Taataani let the cautious stranger hang on her cryptic response for a moment, and then relieved his curiosity.

"jI am Taataani Fai'sheea Igaarrai Meorrrei, Rou'Igraa of Housse Meorrrei, not that anjy of that would matterr to a forrda who would even need to assk that quesstjion to me."

She snapped her fingers towards Taurrifar, who was quick on the unspoken request, handing her a blank datachit for her to notarize. She lackadaisically thumbed a generous amount to the chit, tossed it to the hovering barkeep, and twirled her extended index finger around in a request to keep the establishment's collective whistle wet for another few rounds.

Returning her attention to Talus, she placed a hand on top of his, in more of an assertive way of speaking through body language, as if to say she understood the charade, but she reserved the right not to play.

[Rathe Maris]

He had been sitting there sort of minding his own but the cop and the cat species had drawn his attention. He started listening about the point Taataani mentioned what sounded like opportunity. Rathe liked the sound of opportunities it meant one thing creds. In this span his drink finally reached his table but he didn't really notice as his attention was drawn by what Talus and Taataani where talking about.

Since he had start listening in late he wasn't aware of what Taataani wanted but whatever it was she was willing to buy the whole bar drinks. That alone rang suspicious to Rathe only two people bought rounds in a place like this. One looking for information when people where being stiff with providing it. The second where the people who had a random event of luck weather winning big, getting married, or having their first born. The later where far and few between that meant the cat want something.

Rathe grabbed his glass of Corellian Ale and began to chug it as fast as he could. Hell if she was buying he was going to consume as much as he could on her tab. He wasn't going to stick to the cheap stuff either there was rare bottle of whiskey he knew was kept only for those who could afford it which wasn't very many people that hung out here. Rathe got up from his table moved up to the bar itself taking a stool a bit closer to Taataani's. So now he could both hear her conversation better and have drinks passed to him faster.

[Talus Longstar]

She was right; the name and what it stood for meant nothing to Talus. He removed his hand from beneath hers.

“I'm not the owner.”

Talus took his free drink regardless. He hadn't planned on buying anything, but he knew that his brother would keep at least a couple of decent bottles behind the counter, on the off chance that someone important stopped by. Whether or not this woman was important, or just wealthy, remained to be seen.

“But I might know who is.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa looked at the suited man with a slightly disappointed air about her. Taking another drink, she gestured again to Taurrifar, who again supplied her with a datachit, which she used to authorize for 250 credits, a price she figured was beneath Talus's taking, but well within reason for some of the other salt-of-the-earth types that were idling at the bar.

She pressed the authorized chit onto the bar in front of her and sighed.

"jI'm ssurre ssomebodjy herre doess."

She turned her attention to the other side, watching Rathe trying to double-time his free drinks as he caught their conversation.

[Rathe Maris]

Rathe took a side glance at the chit as his first drink was set down in front of him. Two hundred and fifty free creds just to answer a simple question of who the owner was. Rathe picked up his shot glass and knocked it back in one quick motion. The burn of the whiskey slid down the back of his throat as he set his glass back down. He pointed at his glass telling the bartender to give him another.

Rathe spoke in a bit of a gasp as he wasn't exactly use to the burn this whiskey offered. "Well actually.." He cleared his throat. "I'm sure somebody does know this owner you speak of."

Rathe wasn't exactly new to this game and neither where most of the occupants in the bar. Two hundred and fifty credits was well and good, someone might flip for it. Yet Rathe had to factor in a few details before he could answer for such a price.

"For five hundred I will tell you no questions asked. For the price you offer I'm going to need to know exactly what your game is for wanting to know miss?"

[Talus Longstar]

Talus eyed the kid. He still had whiskey at the corners of his mouth from the glass he'd hovered up on the generous strangers tab. If was one of Vinny's pals, Talus doubted he needed another drink and certainly not two-hundred and fifty's worth of whiskey. He pushed the bribe back across the bar top to her.

“Keep the chit. Owner's name is Vinny Longstar. He's not around this evening, looks like.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"A sshame."

Taa shrugged with an easy smile.

"jI wass hopjing to djisscusss bussjinesss wjith hjim. Could jyou passs hjim a messsage? jI want to bujy hjiss esstabljisshment."

[Rathe Maris]

Rathe gave the know it all glare out of the corner of his eye before down yet another shot set in front of him. He didn't know who this guy was except that his mannerism where cop like. That alone made him a man to distrust, add in he just took away possible income well that made him a threat.

"Really what makes you the expert on who is and ain't around these parts?"

Rathe turned his head and stared right into the man’s eyes.

"Just cause you don't see him out here with the peeps don't mean he ain't around."

Rathe turned back to the bartender and slid his glass to the man signifying he wanted another one. He was starting to feel that nice little buzz coming on now and he didn't want to lose it. That an knowing Vinny this might be the last time he got to catch a buzz in this place.

"I'm not saying he is here but I might be knowing where he is but only for a price."