Laying Foundations: Upgrades and Alcohol

[Bette Davis]

Bette "Shooter" Davis shoved past Zephyr and Maniac, and managed to be the first one into the Balmorran bar. She grinned as the rest of Shadow Squadron piled into the establisment, sufficiently filling it. "I need a Corellian Sand Blaster!"

Val jostled Kam away from the bar stool next to her, and sat down, leaning close to her. "When are you gonig to stop drinking those girly drinks, Bette?"

She turned and smiled, then pushed him away. "When are you going to stop wearing that girly aftershave, Val?" She laughed at the look on his face, and turned to Kam, who sat on the other side of her. "What're you having, Oddball? Great shooting out there today...you got a few snubbies. Not bad, not bad at all."

Bette swiveled in her stool and leaned her back against the bar, looking out on the rest of the room. It was invigorating simply to be alive today.

[Elessar Stavit]

"Gimme a Boom-Boom," the young pilot said as he came in right after the other Shadows. Quellin was behind him as was Panther and Jaguar.

"A 'Boom-boom'?" Tamara Farnsworth raised an eyebrow as she took her own beer, "Ya still drinkin' that stuff?"

"Hey why not," Elessar Stavit took a drink from the small, purple-lish liquid and almost winced as the alcohol hit him. Damn it was good...he loved the stuff.

He took the entire bottle, looking at the bumblebee style container, then poured himself another glass.

"Ya know...I'm thinkin' of doing some upgrades on my fighter...get it some better shields. Shooter I figure you'd want t'do some upgrades too...what's that the second TIE you've lost?"

[Val Torre]

When Bette turned to Kam, Val scowled then turned to the bar-tender. He smiled and gave her a wink, she tried to supress a giggle but she was pretty young and the child inside got the better of her. She flushed red then he spoke up.

"Two pints of Vinta Harvest, honey." He smiled as she scurried of to get the glasses. Turning he found his drinking-buddy, Tod and he kicked out a stool for him. "Take a seat, sir."

As Shadow Twelve aka "Maniac" took a seat, Val leaned back a little and with a heavy yawn, stretched his weary arms. "Here ya go, luv." He said through his still gaping maw whilst yawning, handing the lady some money. With a glance to his side, he saw Bette chatting away with Oddball then he turned to face Tod. "I'm getting screwed up tonight!" He declared with a smile, lifting his pint. They took a few gulps then almost simultaneously put the glasses back on the bar.

"How's she lookin'?" He asked, referring to Tod's ship after their encounter with Rogue Squadron today.

[Tod Marr]

"Nothin' a little paint job won't fix! Not like it needs repairs or anythin'!"

Maniac grabbed the glass and took a mouthful. Ahh! Good stuff. He glanced past Val at Bette, then the opposite way. A girl sitting in the corner with a couple of friends. Without looking back, he spoke to Val...

"Sure, I'll join ya for a couple'a drinks. Don't think I'll be the one gettin' screw'd though!"

He flipped a few credits to Bette...

"How 'bout a song Shooter? It's open-mic night!"

[Bette Davis]

Bette flipped her middle finger to Stavit, and caught the credits from Todd one-handed. "Its going to take a lot more money than this to get me drunk enough to try singing." She bought herself a drink with Maniac's money anyway, and had the bartender send a glass of milk down to him.

She winked as he recieved the glass, and took a healthy swig out of her own drink. Bette heard Val replying to the remark about her singing, and she grabbed a handful of peanuts and threw them at him with a good-natured glare.

[Val Torre]

When the peanuts hit him, Val simply held still for a minute with an amused grin that said: "Oh, I wonder who that could've been!" He turned on his stool and wore an incredulous look, "What? Rancors are good singers!" He turned back to Tod, grinning toothily.

"Thanks." He took his second pint of Vinta Harvest from the barmaid and got started right away. Taking it with him, he made his way over to a rather retro-looking jukebox and looked through what was on offer. He turned to look at the table of young women that Tod had been looking at before, he walked over and crouched down alongside a rather dizzy-looking redhead. After all, he didn't want to do too much work.

"Hey, see my friend over there?" They stared at him with curiosity for a moment then looked away to catch a glimpse of Tod, they giggled in unison, Val had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the girlie response. He leaned closer, like they were conspiring together.

"Well he is one hell of a dancer and he can't take his eyes off you. He wants to know your favourite song so you guys can dance together." He paused then the corner of his mouth raised in amusement. "Any requests?"

After a few more moments of chatting with the women and sharing a few laughs he stood and made a request for a "Don't Stop Till Ya Get Enough." As the song begun, the rather tipsy girls got up from the seats enthusiastically and made their way over to where Kam, Elessar and Tod were seated. Val nudged the redhead and then with a nod in Tod's direction, spaced his hands rather generously and winked. Her eyes widened and she trodded excitedly over to the two men and with the five of her other friends began pulling the three pilots to their feet.

Finishing off his drink, Val took his seat and couldn't hold back the laughter taking in the spectacle.

[Tod Marr]

As the baseline kicked in, Maniac began to move his shoulders in rhythm. This is one helluva song! The kind that makes you wanna dance. Speaking of dancing...

"Hi there!"

Two girls make their way over - and one of 'em's got red hair! Is this Heaven? or Hell? Like I care! Damn, they look good.

As the two bombshells lead Maniac over to the dancefloor, he slides the remainder of his drink (it's half-full) over to Bette and hands her roughly fifty credits worth of chits. He leaned close and patted her on the back, winking at the bartender as he spoke to her...

"Don't stop 'til you get enough, huh Shooter!"

He was subsequently dragged away by the giddy girls and pulled further onto the dancefloor. If you could call it a dancefloor - more like a bit of space in front of the jukebox. Amidst flashing lights and pelvic thrusts, Maniac moved in closer to his new-found friends.

"Lovely...is the feelin' now!!!"

[Kam Dapp]

As the pair began to pull him up, Kam allowed his knees to buckle under him, grabbing his stool to stop him from falling. Slowly lifting himself up, the pilot began swaying slightly, before looking vaguely in the direction of the pair.

"Ahhh shorry, ahhm..." he started, before trailing off into nothing.


As the two looked and each other and walked away, Kam instantly sat himself up straght and turned to his drink.

"I can't stroke don't stroke wont dance" He said, seeing Bette looking at him from the corner of his eye.

Knocking back his drink, a Corellian ale that was strong enough to fit in yet weak enough for him to stay sober and alert, before turning slightly to look out on the floor behind. He could see members of Shadow Squadron dotted around the room, each getting on with their own business. Although he had only be with them for a short time, he reguarded them as people he could trust, people he liked. Well, as close as I will allow them, He thought to himself. Since the Academy, he had always tried to keep a certain degree of distance from other pilots. The main reason for this is simple - pilots die. And in Imperial service, the chance increases dramatically. Before he had even enlisted, Kam had seen people who had lost friends in Squadrons. Shakes was an example of this. He had grown up on Bespin like Kam, and was known by most on the planet not just as a great pilot, but as a great person. Whenever anyone he knew had a problem, he would go out of his way to help them. And this from someone not yet out of teens!

He had left to join the Academy when Kam was young, and was not heard of for years. Until one day, a wreck of a man was returned. Apparently, he had progressed through the ranks, until he led his own Squadron, before losing them all in an ambush. It appeared that the loss of everyone he had held dear to him over those years had made him snap. When Kam had boarded the shuttle to leave the planet, the last image he had was of Shakes, slowly rocking back and forth in the corner in the hangar, slowly talking to himself. I wont let that happen to me.

[Bette Davis]

Bette groaned as the five women threw themselves at the men, and turned to Val. "Just like a civvie...they'll bang anything in a uniform." She bought herself a few tequila shooters with Maniac's credits, and lined them up. They don't call me Shooter for nothing. Bette stuck the rest of the chits into a zippered pocket. She'd give it back to Maniac in the morning.

"Oh c'mon, Kam!" She slapped him on the back. "We had a good run today, and I don't want to see any morose faces tonight!" She'd been too close to not seeing any faces at all ever again, and she was in the mood to celebrate. Bette winked at the newer pilot to the squadron. "I'll buy you a drink if you smile."

Val pulled on her shoulder and she turned back around. "Too bad you aren't a civvie, eh?" He winked, and she growled.

"Been there, done that...and hey, I still have your t-shirt!" She salted the skin between her index finger and thumb as she smirked at Razor. Bette licked the salt, downed the shooter and grabbed for a piece of lime. "Gawd, this music is horrible!" Bette glared at the jukebox. "Wasn't there anything better in there?"

[Kam Dapp]

Smiling for Bette, Kam looked round the room, until he spotted someone leaving a table.


A Sabacc table.


A proper smile on his face now, the pilot hopped of his stool, and looked over at Bette.

"There's only three things Im good at. Piloting, shooting and Sabacc. Well, in public" he said with a wink, before moving a fair pace towards the table, sliding into the vacant seat.


"What rules are we playing?" Kam asked, as he indicated to a waitress for another drink.

"Casino. Know it?"

"Vaguely" He replied, barely managing to keep the smile from his face.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus worked his way to the bar, still feeling a bit odd from a conference with Grand Admiral Millard. Quietly, Silus pushed his way in and found his way to the bartender...

"Gimme a bottle a' Bothan Lager"

Silus threw down a few creds as the bartender got his drink. upon taking the bottle, Silus made his way to an empty table in the corner and plopped down in a chair.

Silus looked around at the pilots that had arrived before him, then thought back to his conversation with Millard. He watched on in interest and casually drank his lager....

[Val Torre]

As Val moved away from Bette he carefully wrapped his hand around one of her Tequila Shooters and whisked it away whilst she spoke. Then he threw it back quickly not caring for the salt or lime. Before she could protest, he smiled and said, "And that's a good shirt, too!"

Kam faked drunkeness then plodded off to play sabacc; not without a flirtacious comment, naturally. Tod lapped the attention up; Val hoped he would take advantage of his generosity and Elessar dealed with his admirers in his own way. Ordering a double Black Heart with ice, he looked to Bette then gestured to the rather loose women. "Generous, aren't I?" His smile was a lot less enthusiastic than earlier. After three pints he would usually settle down and sitting back would delve into his ritualistic session of introspection and self-analysis.

"I should've been there for you, Tam." He grunted under his breath, wearily staring into his half empty glass. With gentle wrist movement, the contents swirled inside the ice chiming melodically with the glass. It was a soothing way of escaping but as Tam Ghant would always remind him, the answers to his problems wont be find at the bottom of a whiskey glass. But Tam wasn't here to tell him that tonight. Then without warning he threw the rest of the Black Heart down his throat and the moment the glass hit the bartop he called out to the bartender.

"Another please."

[Kam Dapp]

Three of flasks, nine of sabres, eleven of flasks, Queen of Air and Darkness. Twenty One thought Kam, as he looked down at his cards. His hand was good, probably enough to win, but now wasn't the time. The hand pot had few credits for the winner, meaning that both Kam and the Sabacc pot would barely notice the increase. No, it would be best to hold his ground for now.

"I'm sticking" the pilot announced confidently, before trying one of the tricks he had been taught back when he was being taught by generous traders on Cloud City. By looking away from the table, Kam may well not be able to read others, but would on the other hand mean they couldn't read him. He had learnt to do this when confident enough that he could win with what he had, and twenty one was as good a time as any.

Staring beyond the Bothan in front of him, Kam could see Val at the bar, knocking back his drink as if it was Oxygen. In his opinion, Val was taking their Commanders death badly. Kam himself had only been in the Squadron for a couple of weeks, so hadn't really got to know him. But from what he had gathered, Val and Tam had been two of the original members of the squadron. Just more proof that I should keep at arms length with people. Scanning the nearby vicinity, Kam spotted a man, sitting alone at a table, watching the room around him.

"What are you doing pilot?" asked the dealer, an overwight man with a receding hairline.
"I'll see you" He said, pushing some credits into the centre. Although it was a large amount, he had won enough to not notice it too badly, and the stakes were good.

As the rest of the players began throwing their credits into the centre, Kam calmly took a sip of his drink, and continued to look around the room, before his eyes rested on the easy to look at form of Bette. Taking a deep breath, he picked up one of his credits, and began to flip it between his fingers.

"I call"

[Bette Davis]

She slammed her shot glass down to find one of her shooters missing. "Val!" He smirked, and sat back down, ordering a Black Heart. It figured...matched his own. Bette took her time finishing off the other two shots, and then ordered a pint of beer.

Raising her pint, she climbed on top of the bar and called out, "A toast! In memory of Tam Ghant, the damndest pilot among us! May your ship fly free, Tam." She hesitated, and then continued, "And we'll get those damn Rogues for you, sir." She saluted, a little wobbly, and tipped her glass back.

The people who had no idea what she was talking about looked at her weirdly, and the bartender roughly pulled her down off the bar. "Watch the hands!" Bette slumped back onto her stool, and looked at Val. "Don't drink too much. I hate it when you're morose. Sure, we lost a good man...but..." She frowned, the alchohol slowing her reason and reaction time. "Oh hell, I don't remember what I was saying."

[Tod Marr]

"Keep on with the force don't stop"
"Don't stop 'til you get enough"

This was fun. The red-haired girl was called Laura, and her black-haired friend went by the name of Pandora. Maniac really liked Laura, and Pandora was okay too. They were both students at the university on Cheserea, not too far from Balmorra. It was their half term and they were on holiday. A threesome could possibly be on the cards tonight. But right now it was time for another drink.

"What are you girls havin'?"

Two bottles Eciff Onrims. Well three, since Maniac decided to try one too. At the bar, he noticed that Val was looking a little gloomy. Rather than sit down and join him in his depressed state, he tried cheering him up.

"C'mon Baggie, get with the beat! There's a dancefloor fulla girls right in front...er...behind you. You're not still stuck up on Shooter are ya? Geez! Lighten up! Have a dance! It's s'pose ta be a celebration!"

He returned to Laura and Pandora just in time for the next song...and it was one of Maniacs favourites...

**I peek into the hole,**
**struggle for control.**
**The children love the show,**
**But they fail to see the anguish in my eyes.**
**Fail to see the anguish in my eyes.**

"Here's your drinks ladies. Now where were we? Oh yeah!"

**I scratch around the brim,**
**I let my mind give in, yeah yeah!**
**The crowd begins to grin,**
**But they seem to screem when darkness fills my eyes.
**Seem to screem when darkness fills my eyes!**
**It's no surprise!!!**

[Val Torre]

People were telling him to cheer up. He hated that. But moreso he hated coming across as miserable, to be fair he was enjoying a nice bout of depression but regardless he thought it wise to slow down on the drinking for now and try to "Get with the beat" as Maniac had so eloquently put it.

"For Tam." He croaked, raising his glass a little at the bar in recognition of Bette's toast. Although her theatrics on the bartop brought a smile to his face whether she knew it or not. For a moment he stared - he liked to look at her, she made his troubles go away - but then returned to his glass whilst she wrestled with the bartender.

"I'm alright, just really tired. I might be calling it a night soon--" He had been cut short earlier when Tod wandered back of to the girls, Val didn't blame him. But when Tod said something about being "stuck up on Shooter" it made him think; is that all people thought he ever bothered about?

"I'm getting off soon, Bette--" He told once she'd finished trying to string a sentence together. He didn't have that problem yet because he was taking his time talking. "--I'm getting a bit tired."

How many times had he said that in the past? Too many. He knew what nights like these ended up like and he couldn't decide what was more intoxicating; the drink or Bette. "No!" He thought, running a hand wearily over his eyes. "Don't start again." The drink was setting in. He smiled at her, then looked back into his glass before bringing to his lips taking another sip. Change of subject!

"What do you plan on doing now?" He asked her with curiosity, then quickly added just for security. "About your ship, I mean. You gonna order any upgrades with your next one?"

[Bette Davis]

Bette grumbled a bit at the question. "Next one? Sheeeez, I dunno." She tipped back what was left of her beer and rested her forehead on the bar. Peeking sideways at Val, she grinned, "Think they'll let me into another one? I seem to keep getting them blown up."

Her face fell, and she frowned at him. "Where were you when I had a Rogue on my ass? Oh, never mind. It doesn't even matter." Raising her head and turning away, Bette held up her hand for another beer. Todd was being obnoxiously loud in the corner of the bar, his singing louder than the music, and his dancing worse than ..well worse than a lot of things that she could think of.

Nothing was coming specifically to mind, however. "Hello! Need a refill!" She tossed her empty glass at the 'tender and rested her chin in her hand.

[Val Torre]

"Hey!" He said, agitated by her comment about not being there when she had trouble with a Rogue. She had her back turned, what else was new!

Now even more irritated, he stood and putting his hands underneath her stool picked her up in it and forcefully turned it round until she faced his direction then let it drop with a clang. He looked down and closer than before, raised his voice a little louder and said again: "Hey!"

She didn't miss it that time. He then sat back on his stool and faced her with a look of annoyance.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked incredulously, bringing his hands up to emphasise it. "Where was I? I was off looking after my own wingmen. Y'know like I'm supposed to - oh yeah, I forgot! - I'm talking to someone who has one of her wingmen leave early with damage and - ooh, let come... get's her own ass blown outta the sky!"

His voice had grown louder now, their talk now bordering on a heated discussion. He threw back the rest of his drink, not caring for the consequences now.

"I tell ya what, the next time we're out there; I'll get in your ship and I promise to hold your hand at all times!"

[Bette Davis]

Bette grabbed the bar with both hands to keep from tipping off her barstool as Val plunked it down again. "I don't need you to hold my hand!" She grabbed at his glass, and managed to make him drop it.

It shattered on the bar, and the bartender started walking over. "I frelling know you had wingmen to take care of! Why do you think I said never mind? You know..this is so like you. Just blow everything up out of proportion!" Bette shoved his shoulder and tried to turn away again.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus took another drink, and seeing that Val and Bette's "conversation" was getting more heated, promptly set the bottle down on the table and slid his chair back.

Silus stood up and began making his way over to the bar. Hopefully he would break up the fight and not get dragged into it...

[Val Torre]

Leaning forward, Val gave a quick tug at one of the legs of Bette's stool and it turned, compensating her turning. His eyes narrowed with fury b;ended with a healthy quantity of frustration.

"So like me?" He asked, finding it hard to believe that she had actually said what she had. "So like me! What about you? You love having your little digs and turning away as if you meant nothing by your words despite them being laced with venom. So you're gonna have to finish what you started!" He growled. She always knew how to get under his skin and she did quite naturally too, it was her gift - the most infuriating person in the galaxy. He stood out of his seat and looked down her with a much angered face bring a finger up pointing right at her.

"Y'know what!" He shouted, then he was quiet for a moment as if thinking for something to say then sat wearily down once more. "Forget it."

After appologizing to the bartender he ordered one last drink and after paying for it stood up and turning away from Bette he said much more quietly: "And I want my shirt back too."

He then began making his way over to where Kam was, another man was making his way over towards the bar but for now he paid him no mind.

[Bette Davis]

Bette spluttered as he walked away from her, and jumped down from the stool, stalking after his retreating back. "Finish what I started!? Fine words coming from a man who's best known for walking away!" She grabbed his arm and spun him around, the top of her head coming to his shoulder.

"You want you shirt back!? Fine I'll give you your frelling shirt back!" Bette grabbed the front of her pilot's uniform, and snapped the buttons open, revealing a white undershirt. "I don't like it anyway!"

With one slight fumble, Bette managed to pull the white shirt over her head, and threw it at Val, hitting him in the chest. Someone in the bar whistled at her, and she angrily yanked her overshirt back on over her bra and buttoned it up with shaking fingers.

[Tod Marr]

Oh well! Pandora had lost interest about five minutes ago and gone off after some old guy with bad breath! Weird girl! But Laura was still with Maniac, and they were dancing the night away. They'd already exchanged personal comlink frequencies and had made plans to meet tomorrow for a drink. But it's not like the night was to end anytime soon! Maniac led her over to the bar, where Bette and Val were "talking" innocently...

"I'll have one..."

He quickly glanced back at Laura, who gave a nod in reply...

"...two Eciff Onrims' please pal!"

The bartender rummaged below the bar, revealing not two but four of the requested drinks. Maniac smiled surprisedly and shook his head slightly...

"It's 241 from midnight!"

Maniac smiled once again, and gave Laura her two drinks, then grabbing his own two. He turned to Bette and Val...

"Hey guys, how's it goin'? I want you to meet a friend of mine - this is Laura! Laura this is Bette, and that's my buddy Val!"

He hoped they might stop arguing for a short while to greet her and maybe exchange some small talk. But knowing Val as long as he had done, and knowing what he did about Bette in the short time he'd known her, his expectations weren't too high...

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus couldnt believe it. She actually did it.... Being the gentleman that Silus is, he didnt look....Ok Silus looked, but its not like he could help it. Besides, it wasn't anything too explicit anyways.

Silus set his empty bottle on the bar and walked up to Bette's side, softly placing his hand on her arm...

"Easy there, you dont wanna get kicked outta here for good do ya?"

Somehow, Silus didnt think his words did much good...

[Val Torre]

Momentarily distracted from his confrontation with Bette, Val was introduced to the redhead he had sent over to Tod, he knew her already but was too angry at Shooter to bother with formalities. He looked at her, gave his head an acknowledging jerk in her direction and simply grunted, "Hey."

When he turned back to Bette she had just said something about walking away but he didn't quite catch it. The next thing he knew she was unbuttoning her uniform in front of the entire bar. He frowned at her then his face dropped significantly when she revealed that she had been wearing his shirt all along. He swallowed, looking about the bar whilst she removed it, a faint red colour tainting his cheeks as she did so. Now he felt awkward.

"Well, eh--" He fumbled for soemthing to say. Then thought of something that might lighten her mood. He hesitated, then wearing a rather boyish grin, cocked an eyebrow and looked at her, "--If you just wanted to get your kit off, why didn't you tell me sooner!" He winked thinking that would make things all better. Would it? Then another schmuck decided to poke his nose in wear it doesn't belong.

"'Ey you! Whyn't ye watch those handzeyus?" A nod of the head, showed what he had a problem with, he had his hand on Bette like he owned her. And no longer planning his sentences, some of Val's words were becomming slurred. "You-ont see me stin' me nose in your binse! Beat it!"

With that he gave him a shove so that his hands were no longer on her and Val then stepped back and placing a hand on the bar and leaning on it, he looked to Bette wearing a smile as if to say: "Proud of me?"

[Bette Davis]

Bette didn't even hear Todd talking to her, as her whole attention was focused on the man in front of her. Her jaw dropped as he continued to talk. "--If you just wanted to get your kit off, why didn't you tell me sooner!"

She felt hot angry tears pricking her eyes, and she pulled her hand back, forming her fingers into a fist. "Easy there, you dont wanna get kicked outta here for good do ya?" A stranger laid his hand on her arm, and she lost her concentration for the punch she'd been about to land on Val's chin. Bette yanked away, and glared at him. "Hey! I'm havin' a conversation 'ere!"

Val shoved the man off her, and she caught sight of his cocky mug again. "You...!" The smaller woman hauled off and hit Val in the right cheek as he leaned down on the bar. "Ow! Frell!"

She winced and rubbed her hand, while stumbling back from him. Why did she do that? As she turned around she saw the man who had interfered, and growled. "What are you starin' at?!"

Bette yelped as Val grabbed her from behind and lifted her completely off her feet, dropping her to the ground.

[Kam Dapp]

Eleven of Staves, three of coins, four of coins, one of flasks. Nineteen. Should be good enough thought Kam, as he threw some credits into the middle.

"See you, raise one hundred"

Kam estimated that so far the hand pot was at a hundred thousand, and the Sabacc pot at double that. This was almost as far as Kam had ever got. He watched as the human and Trandoshan players threw in similar amounts, all raising the Bothans initial bet. Not listening to the other players, the pilot sipped his drink, and looked over at the others. He could see an argument between Bette and Val, when.....

Sithspit! He thought, nearly dropping his drink. He hadn't expected her to do that! Near blushing, Kam half covered his face, hoping noone saw the naive suprise on his face.

"Well, do you want to call or not?" He heard the Bothan say. Realising he could call, he turned to look at his cards. Eleven of Staves, three of coins, four of coins, five of sabres. They must have shifted! Pure Sabacc!

"Call!" He blurted, and slammed his cards down. The Trandoshan roared in anger, before storming away. The Bothan shrugged and headed for the bar. THe other human began to cry, and buried his head in his arms. Hurredly hoarding his winnings together, Kam took a small pile out, and tucked it under the mans arm.

"Imperial mechanic right?" he asked

"Why?"

"What I just gave you is a favour. Here's how you pay me back. Tommorow, your priority is my snub. First thing, I will give you my required upgrades. That okay?"

"Thank you" he said, nodding in understandment. Slowly, Kam left the table, and began to walk towards the other, a slight swagger in his walk.

Wonder if I get lucky every time she does that? He thought, as he gave a lopsided grin to noone in particular.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus' face went from concerned to annoyed. His eyes followed the arm from his shoulder back to the man who had just pushed him. However, before Silus could get a word in edgewise, the woman to his side slugged the guy!!! The annoyed look on Silus' face turned to confusion, as she questioned him. Then the guy bodyslammed her!

This scuffle was now getting out of hand. Silus stepped over the woman, who was on the ground, putting himself between her and the man who had just slammed her...

"Thats enough! From both of you....Now break it up!"

Silus' words were more harsh now. Whether or not the two pilots heeded them was unpredictable, but it was the only warning that Silus would give.

Silus stood his ground, making sure to keep the two pilots seperated...

[Val Torre]

"She hit me! Goddam, she has a punch!" Val thought as he reeled from the blow. Not hesitating he immediatly responded by picking her tiny frame up from the floor and let go, allowing her to fall flat on her face. It wasn't an effort to make a fight break out but he was so angry and just wanted to tell her: "I'm the man. I'm bigger and stronger than you." But let his actions say that.

"Who th'rell do you thin' y'are!" Val immediatly retorted, his face was red with fury and he launched himself at this new guy who thought he was fit to dish out orders. He tackled Silus and knocked him down on the floor and held him down for a moment whilst he spoke, Val contuinued. "Why you 'ave to ger invold?" Blood trickled from his lip and landed on Silus' cheek.

The reaction of Val seeing that he was bleeding was like a bull seeing red. He growled and lashed out at the man, landing a punch square on his nose. His weight shifted, Silus was able to throw him over and a scuffle began between the two.

[Tod Marr]

How foolish! Maniac actually thought he'd get a half-decent reply. Val would probably say he made an effort, but he never. And Bette! Typical! Too wrapped up in her own things. And Val's shirt. Well Maniac'd had enough now. And besides, Laura was getting restless. It seemed she wasn't too bothered about his friends' rudeness. Oh well - time for some fun.

"Bye guys!"

He didn't really care about them right now. They could kick the crap out of each other all night and it wouldn't bother him. He had more important and fun things to do. He took Laura's arm and led her towards the door...

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus rolled on the ground a minute with Val, before throwing the drunken pilot off of him, and immediately pinning the drunken pilot under him. His temper had been lost when Val tackled him, but Silus was pushed over the edge when Val hit him...

Silus checked his nose. Sure enough, it was bleeding, badly. This pushed him even more. Silus grabbed Val by the hair and pulled his head up, immediately sending it back to the floor with a hard left hand to the jaw....

[Bette Davis]

Bette stumbled to her feet, trying to clear her head, and saw Val getting his head smashed into the ground. "Hey!" She couldn't remember what else she was going to say, but lunged at the guy on Razor.

She was small, but had managed to get enough momentum to send them both sprawling to the floor and away from Val. They bashed into a sabacc table, upsetting a game, and sending players and chits flying. Bette grabbed a chair to pull herself up, and got knocked down again by an irate sabacc player.

[Kam Dapp]

The previous few moments had been a blur to Kam. From a heated argument, things had taken a turn for the nasty. Bette had hit Val, Val had knocked Bette down, some person who was interfering got into a scuffle with Val. At some stage in all this, one of the other pilots, Tod or something, had totally dissapeared. Feeling more than slightly confused, the pilot stepped out of the way, hoping to not get involved.

The next thing Kam knew, Bette and the unknown man sailed past him, slamming into the middle of a Sabacc game. As credits showered the nearby vicinity, Dapp watched as Bette began to get up, before being knocked back down by another bar patron.

In most cases, Kam would have at this point vacated the premises. However, this was different. He could hardly leave his fellow pilots, could he? Kicking a chair nearby which luckily was wooden, Kam broke a leg off, and used his foot to flick it into his hand. Don't ever go into a fight without an advantage he thought as he walked near to where Bette was, and used the end of the leg to push one man out of the way, before swinging it at the attackers midriff, knocking him off his feet and away. He looked down at Bette, and went to make some smart comment, until a bottle thrown by someone connected with the side of his head, sending him staggering over a table and to the floor.

[Silus Xilarian]

Before Silus knew it, he had been blind-sided by Bette. She got to her feet quickly, only to be knocked back down. Silus looked over to her, and a big grin shot across his face.

"You didnt have to do that ya know"

Then Kam hit the angry sabacc player, then was hit in the head with a flying bottle.

Silus quickly got up, and charged the man who hit Kam with the bottle, unleashing a vicious right hook to the man's jaw, breaking it instantly, and knocking the man unconscience.

[Val Torre]

Climbing to his feet with some difficulty, Val stumbled about unsteadily whilst his vision recentred. The alcohol affect in full swing now, his eyes wearily moved over the bar and baffled by it all he fell back against a stool. Repositioning himself he lifted himself onto it and looked at his reflection in a mirror behind the bar, his mouth was bleeding more.

"Damned pilots." He grunted before folding his arms on the surface of the bar and rested his head on them. The sound of the brawling behind becoming distant and ambient.

[Bette Davis]

Bette lurched away from Oddball, as a bottle smashed over his head. She felt herself being grabbed from behind again, and not by Val this time. Bette squealed, and kicked wildly, managing to break the nose of someone in front of her with a flying boot.

[Kam Dapp]

Getting to his feet, Kam hopped onto the table, and looked out in front oh him. As of now, there was about six people involved in the ruckuss, most he didn't know. This was good, it meant less chance of hitting the wrong person. Jumping down, Kam broke into a run, and brought his shoulder forward, slamming into the back of the man he assumed had thrown the bottle, knocking him into another table, no doubt annoying the people sitting there. It wasn't until he heard a large growl that he looked accross.

Rising to his feet was the rather large Trandoshan who Kam had beaten heavily in his Sabacc game. As a cruel smile appeared on.....its lips, the pilot knew what he was thinking. Grabbing the chair leg once again. He held it ready and awaited his charge, which came soon after.

Think fast, stay alive.

Kam suprised his assailant by bringing the front of the leg forward, jabbing him hard under the chin. As he staggered backwards, Dapp began to take quick swings at his midesection, alternating on his right and left sides, each sending the Trandoshan backwards. With one final swing, Kam knocked him back into his table hard, knocking him out.

Turning round after hearing a noise, Kam was greeted with a punch that knocked him down. Instinctively he scrambled under the table to avoid kicks while he was down, but saw this was uneeded, as another patron attacked his attacker. Taking the moment to catch his breath, Kam turned to check on the others one by one. Tod was still nowhere, Val was at the bar alone, and Bette seemed to be holding her own. Well, could be worse.

[Silus Xilarian]

Upon knocking out the man who threw the bottle at Kam, Silus was hit in the midsection by a charging barabel. Silus hit the wall hard and got a bit of his breath knocked out of him by the barabel's shoulder in his gut. Silus reacted quickly and hit the alien in the back of the head, then grabbed around the bottom of its chin with his left hand, jerking it into a standing position. Silus quickly ducked to avoid a wild slash from one of the barabel's claws, then landed a left jab between its eyes, followed by a hard right uppercut, adequately flooring the alien...

The victory was short lived however, as a Weequay grabbed Silus from behind and threw him to the floor....

[Bette Davis]

Bette kneed the man holding her in the crotch, and then elbowed him in the face. He fell back, gasping for breath and bleeding. The man who had grabbed her arm previously skidded across the floor towards her, and she stepped back as a Weequay rushed after his moving body.

She punched the Weequay in the chin, and then chopped it in the neck with the side of her left hand. "What the hell is going on in here?!"

[Val Torre]

"Don't you remember?" Val groaned, his head lifted otherwise she wouldn't hear him with it burried in his arms. "You thought it would be a good idea to start a fight. Now you've got one so you can't possibly complain--" His voice trailed off as his attention was averted to the bartender. He asked for another Black Heart - his brain was still reverberating inside his skull thanks to that idiot who had slammed his head into the floor - whereupon the bartender claimed that he had drank enough.

"You what!?" He asked, now roused to sit upright. When the bartender repeated what he said in a rather condescending tone he asked, "And take your little buddies and leave!"

Before even coming with a nice retort to the man's words, val somehow found it within him to dive over the bar, sending both he and the bartender into the shelving behind. Some shelves snapped, others were knocked over but the results was a cascade of bottles and flasks spilling every kind of beverage one could imagine all behind the bar. The fumes from the horrendous alcoholic concoction were overwhelming and glass littered the floor all about them.

"Is...this...what...you...call...customer...SERVICE !?" After each word he landed a punch from either his left or right hand until finally he knocked the guy unconcious by taking a metal cocktail mixer and smacked him over the head with it. Standing Val then winced at a sharp feeling in his side, a piece of glass had got stuck in the skin to the left of his back. It hadn't gone in very deep so he pulled it out with a hiss and staggered back around to the front of the bar, making sure to pick up a bottle of Black Heart on the way round.

[Stormtrooper TK-632]

The doors to the bar suddenly shot open and a group of stormtroopers ran through, blasters drawn. If any of the SS members noticed, they were set to stun not kill.

"This is Stormtrooper TK-632, don't you even think about throwing that bottle!" the mechanical voice yelled.

He pointed at every SS member, "You're all under arrest!"

[Elessar Stavit]

Elessar had been watching the brawl with amusement from his seat with Rain in the corner. The advantage of darkened corners was the fun that could be had in those corners.

But when the stormtroopers came in, Stavit knew he had to act.

He rose from his seat, zipping up his flight suit, and picking up the bottle of 'Boom-Boom' as he did.

"You got my six, Rain?" he asked as he prepared to throw.

He heard her say, "You got it sweetlips."

No, you have the sweetlips the Leiutenant thought.

Then he threw the bottle at the nearest stormtrooper.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus had hit his head pretty hard after being thrown by the weequay. Upon taking a moment to shake the dizzyness, he heard the word "arrest"...

Silus looked up to see a small group of stormtroopers standing there, then he saw the bottle hit the nearest stormtrooper and Silus immediately started laughing...very loudly...Pointing and laughing even...

Silus quickly stumbled to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes, noticing that his blaster had been lost, he cursed under his breath...

[Stormtrooper TK-632]

TK-632 smirked at the drunken fighter pilot.

"You fly-boys are all alike. Good with the stick, but bad when it count. No wonder they don't put shields on those TIEs."

It was then the bottle clanked off of one of the other stormtroopers, sending him down.

"You there freeze!" TK-632 raised his blaster, preparing to fire at Elessar.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus saw the blaster fly into the air..."This had gone to far", he thought to himself..."Cooler heads must prevail"..

"HEY HEY!!!!! Stop its ok...we'll go peacefully...dont shoot him!"

Silus slowly stepped out from crowd and began walking toward 632 with his hands behind his head. He stepped between Stavit and the stormtrooper's aim, and slowly approached with his hands still in the air..."Cooler heads" he thought to himself, as he closed in on 632, and in one swift motion, knocked the Stormtrooper's blaster away and tackled him.

Silus jumped on 632 and began beating at his helmet with his right hand, each shot sounding like a mix of clanking metal and cracking...

[Kam Dapp]

Kam watched as the stranger laid into the lead stormtrooper, and quickly reached down into his jacket, before pulling out his blaster. A DL-18 with the barrel shortened, Kam had neglected using it earlier because bringing a gun into a fistfight is more trouble than it's worth. He carefully set it to stun, just in case.

Breaking into a crawl, Kam scurried past where Bette was, and stood once he reached an upright that would cover him from the Stormtroopers. Slowly reaching out, he gently touched Bette's elboe, so that she now it was him and not suddenly swing out at him, before looking for others. Seeing only Val, Kam quietly threw a small piece of a broken wooden chair at him to attract his attention, before slowly mouthing him a question.



What.....do we.....do.....now..........run?

[Bette Davis]

Bette turned to look at the stormies as they entered, and got tackled from behind. She flew face first into a table, cracking her head on the corner. She groaned, and the guy who jumped her got thrown backwards by the Weequay, who wanted a piece of her.

Luckily as the stormies spoke, everyone seemed to freeze for a moment. Bette rolled under the table, and burped. She groaned again. Oddball touched her elbow, but she was still blinking and trying to clear her head.

Suddenly something the stormie had said clicked. She stood to her feet, upsetting the table and a chair, and successfully getting the trooper's attentions. The man who she had helped from the Weequay leapt at one of them who was holding a blaster, and she shouted over the resulting pandemonium: "Who are you callin' a flyboy?"

She grabbed a barstool by the legs, walked up to a trooper who was trying to pry the man off Super Trooper Number One. With a grunt of expelled air she swung the stool and knocked the stormie to the ground. Then she jumped on top of him and started trying to pry his helmet off.

[Elessar Stavit]

Stavit and Rain ran forward, joining their fellow SS members as they went against the stormtroopers.

Elessar's first punch connected with the white helmet, sending one of the troopers to the ground. He pounded upon the army soldier, slamming the man's head into the ground multiple times.

The pilot felt a blaster smack him on the back of the head, sending him towards the ground as darkness threatened to take him.

[Silus Xilarian]

*CLACK* *CLACK* *CLACK*......*CRACK!*

Silus' pounding, aided by the durasteel bone structure in his right hand managed to crack the Stormtrooper's helmet. The crack started above the one of the dark shaded "eyes" of the helmet and continued beneath it, with the shaded part long since been broken. A few attempts were made to drag Silus off the trooper, which were hindered by Silus' left elbow being flung back into his attackers. One trooper managed to get a hold on Silus but was knocked off his feet by Bette...

Silus grabbed around the edge of the hole he had just made on the helmet and drug the Stormtrooper to its knees, then sent him crashing back to the ground with a harsh boot to the face...

[Val Torre]

Val absent-mindedly shrugged at Kam, slumping back into a stool. He was quite content to sit and drink for it hadn't crossed his mind that they were going to be put under arrest. He remained silent and took a swig from the almost full bottle. His silence was broken when one of the troopers made a joke about pilots.

"You fly-boys are all alike. Good with the stick, but bad when it count. No wonder they don't put shields on those TIEs."

Suddenly, Val's temper raged as if a fuel inside him had just been ignited once more and to match that firey rage he through his bottle at one of the stormtroopers, it hit him in the chest and splashed all over him and another of his ilk. They wreaked from the ludicrously strong alcohol.

"This one's for you, Tam!" He said having snatched a half-smoken cigarra from an ashtray on the bar, he held it up in front of him ceremoniously then flicked it at the two stormtroopers drenched in whiskey. First the floor caught fire then the flames rapidly began to dance up their legs and they began to cry out frantically. Hopefully they would abandon their duty in order to extinguish the flaming armour.

[Kam Dapp]

"Oh great, I've joined Psychopath Squadron" said Kam to himself, as he watched as Val joined the fight and set some of the troopers alight. Looking round, he saw that no Stormtroopers were looking his way, and an open exit in the oposite direction. Shrugging, the pilot headed that way, not turning back to look.

For some reason that even Kam wouldn't know why, he stopped short of the door, and looked back at the others. I can't leave them, what sort of person would I be? They wouldn't leave me. Well, some of them wouldn't he thought to himself, before walking back to his upright, took aim and fired a stun shot at one of the Stormtroopers on his own.

[Tod Marr]

Meanwhile...

Eight blocks down, Maniac and Laura were standing outside a small food kiosk on the corner of the street, a few metres away from the speedlane edge. The kiosk was surrounded by hungry clubbers and nightlifers, all talking loudly between themselves whilst shouting out food orders. Todd called out to the cook who had his back turned...

"Two Frogdogs please..." Maniac slurred his speech as the cook turned. "...Bill?"

The cook smiled as he recognised the young pilot.

"Hey-hey! Maniac! How ya been buddy! How's the starfleet treatin' ya?"

As he spoke to Todd, he simultaneously cut open and buttered the buns and slapped the sausages onto the incredibly hot open grill. Instantly, they began to sizzle next to the other three dozen sizzling 'dogs, two dozen burgers, eight kebabs and other grilled snacks that tickled the fancy's of Coruscant's night owls. It was a nice feeling that Todd hadn't felt in a while - being in this kind of atmosphere with a pretty with a great personality. Sometimes, he peferred this kind of atmosphere to the kind he would find back at the bar with the rest of his squadron. But he did enjoy the laughs they had in Shadow Squadron...

"Not bad at all. I'm keepin' busy. Just been out for a little celebration this evening, and met Laura here..."

She gives Bill a little wave, and he winks at her in approval of Todd's 'choice'. Bill had met Todd a few years earlier. He was part of the crew of a smuggling ship with a cargo of Ryll Spice from Kessel to Corellia when the ship came under attack by an "old" rival gang of Todds - who intervened. Bill even helped Todd in getting into Shadow Squadron - and after a few drinks Bill probably wouldn't shut up about it. Funnily enough, that was the same time Todd met Val, and they too became close friends. (But that's another story for another time. Perhaps!)

Well, not that close, given Todd's current mood. Had he known about their current predicament back at the bar, whether or not Todd would intervene remains to be seen. At least straight away! He put his arms around Laura playfully as they waited for their Frogdogs.

[Stormtrooper TK-632]

Ah frell, TK-632 thought as he felt his head get mashed in.

"We need back up here! NO-" his yell was cut off as one of the pilots bashed his head in, sending him to the ground.

As unconciouness threatened to take him...the stormtrooper was able to pull the trigger to his blaster...hitting one of the pilots with a stun blast.

[Bette Davis]

Bette yelped, and fell to the ground, tangled up with the trooper she had leapt upon. The affects of the stun blast knocked her to near total unconsciousness, and she lay there, one eye half open, the other closed.

Her only conscious thought was worry that someone would step on her.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus looked over to see a stun blast hit Bette. He looked back down to see that the stormtrooper he had just kicked to the floor had fired the shot.

Silus jerked the trooper from the floor. As the man was brought to his feet, Silus brought a knee into his midsection, doubling the trooper over. Upon doubling over, the trooper dropped his blaster. Silus knocked him face down on the floor with an elbow to the back of the neck, then grabbed the blaster.

As he picked it up, he saw a stormtrooper hit Stavitt with the butt of his blaster. Before the trooper could do anything else, Silus fired a stun blast, flooring the trooper...