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| - Sitting over at one of the table games, Dareus, with a healthy stack of chips, seems to be beating the odds against the dealer, or at least moreso than the other people at his table. He takes a few sips of his Caf, and maintains a decent look at both his own cards, and the looks on the faces of his fellow players; occasionally they all seem to joke together, although the background noise of the Casino really doesn't allow it to carry without melding into the whole chorus of sound. The revolving doors, (If this place has them) carried alot of people into the house of gambling, Even Seifer Wolf, fully decked out in his Imperial Uniform was pushed around between the glass. He found himself standing just out from the doors, his hands clasped behind his back, he scanned the room for a familiar face and caught Dareus at a table. A smile rose his face and he began to walk over, quietly at that, he didn't want to be seen yet. "Sonofa...." a small laugh comes from the party at the table as he tosses some cards in, and continues to watch the remainder of his cardshark friends play out their hands. Motioning towards a waitress, he hands her a few chips, "Round of drinks for the table...I'll skip the coffee and move to the big boy stuff now..." He says to her with a wink. Taking a deep breath as he leans back to wait, he mentions to the tall Chiss man next to him, "Favourite waitress, she's been my shadow all week that I've been here..." Wolf had ducked in behind a casino machine closest to the table. Dareus had turned around and almost seen him. He watched the waitress go off to get his drinks and come back before he stuck an eye out over the Casino machine. Dareus, being too engrossed in the game and the company to notice anyone, continues to laugh and joke as the new cards are dealt out, peering underneath, and raising his bet; before eyeing the dealer. "C'mon Taalis, I've been here all week, and now you're taking my money instead of me getting fresh stuff...." Both chuckle slightly, as the waitress returns with the tray full of random drinks for the table of players, although there still are some empty spots, probably to the benefit of her arm. "Ahhh, whiskey time. Now comes Lady Luck." Rubbing his hands together with a smile, the dealer pays out a few wins, including Antoine's; giving him time to have a long sip of the whiskey that arrives, and handing the waitress a generous tip. Wolf didn't know how he was going todo this, then something caught his eye. A taller man nearby had a long cloak draped around his shoulders, but was heading in the oposite direction.. "Perfect." he said, walking quickly, he placed a hand on the man's back and pushed him forward, tugging the cloak off him. The man ofcourse spun around but so did Wolf. All the man saw was an Imperial Officer and a crowd of people. Wolf sidestepped between a few casino Machines and put the cloak on, placing the hood over his face creating a nice shadow effect. Wolf made his way back to Dareus' table and waited for the opportune moment to intervene. Instead of counting the chips, like some of the less experienced gamblers; Dareus seems content to stack his chips, running a disc across his fingers giving the look as though it were climbing and descending a set of stairs. He takes a sip of whiskey, placing it back down, "Keep that coming, I'll be here for another 20-30 dozen hands anyway..." He says with a wink. As the new hand hits the table, he places his bet, and leaves the cards as they fall, "Blind bet time...." A smirk crosses his face, and a look of amusment as well as sheer bewilderment cross the dealer and other players. "Luck isn't anything without bravery..." He says, while he pats the blaster in his thigh holster, causing a few laughs with the other players, who pretend to understand. Wolf was doing a good job of making this work, his eyes moved over the chips Dareus had and his eyes moved around for some for himself. His eyes crossed one large chip, a yellow 500 credit chip, sitting on a tray next to a slot machine. Wolf moved over that way, he pretended to fall onto the tray, "Watch we'r yer goin'!" he said aloud in a sort of back-water planet accent. He didn't want to be recognized, but the chip was now his. He made his way over to Dareus' table and sat down the only vacant seat, at the other end of the table from Dareus. He was in full view of everyone at the table, just not his face or uniform. As the new player arrives, he flags down his waitress again, who seems to be hovering near him at all times, anyway, "KAT!....New player on the table...buy him a drink, would you dear?" Still in mid hand, he doesn't take much fo the time to eye him over, "Welcome to our table, just watch the dealer here....he's one sneaky sonofabitch...." With a grin, the dealer flips his winning hand over, and all the players toss their cards on the table sharply, "TOLD you...." Shaking his head, he tosses 1000 credits on the bet line, crosses his arms and leans back on the table, after taking a generous swallow of his whiskey; it's replacement already on the way. Wolf's mouth drops open as he sees the bet Dareus put down.. A small sigh came from Wolf as he pulled out the yellow disc and threw it on the table, along with another 1000 Credits. Wolf was a lucky one, he knew how to play this game too well. 'I didn't want to have to use my own credits..' he thought, eyeing Dareus. 'I'll just have to win..' Wolf waited for the dealer to deal the cards, he wasn't going to say anything until the right moment. The dealer sorts his cards out, and as the whole table has been bet, the pit boss happens to glance at several of the large bets, and smirks. Dareus simply nods to the unrecognizable figure; "Ahhh, someone who bets like me, but apparenly sober." His new drink arrives, and the empty is quickly replaced, then the waitress heads to the cloaked man. As the dealer flips the losing hand for most of the players, both the hooded man, and Dareus are the only 2 to win this one; and the payout begins to happen. Taking a sip of his whiskey, "Not my favourite career; but it seems to pay while in the interim..." A smile cross his faces as he finishes a sip of his drink, setting the glass down to begin stacking his winnings. Almost pleasantly surprised, Dareus smiles, "I was wondering if you'd run into me down here, I saw you the other day at the smugglers dig when you came down for Commodore Caiton....but staying in the shadows lately has expanded some career horizons." Placing a few new chips down, he seems a little more disinterested in the game, obviously apparent by nis new, lower bets, "How have you been?" The play somewhat settles down in the raucous Casino; as the time grows later; but still, the group of people who turned a table into their own personal high roller area is buzzing with activity; waitresses hunting for drink tips; and several different characters; who all look to be from different walks of life, continue to play cards, and laugh over drinks. Like in many situations around the planet lately, the young, dark haired Antoine seems to be the head of the table...with a bright smile; and for those who always frequent the seedier places like the smugglers dig; finally a clean shaven and sober face...for now. Twila smiles as she slips in, a first time for the Colonel. Looking around, sighing to herself, she finds the dispenser that holds the chips and she peers at it before putting some money into it. Once her chips are spat out at her, she gathers them within her hands and then steps towards one of the gambling machines, giving it as much of an intense look as she did the machine she got the chips from. Shrugging, she puts in a few of the plastic discs and tries her luck. Dareus starts to falter back and forth with wins and losses at the card table; but smiles as his new drink arrives; the dealer coming by, "Lieutenant, looks like your luck is starting to falter..." Taking a long sip, Antoine's face goes serious for a minute as he sets the glass down, and adds another bet to the table, "I'm not in the Imperial Navy anymore." Turning his attention again to the cards; he accepts his win, and places a hold marker on the bet line, seeming content to lean back in the comfortable chair, and survey around the room; before taking another drink, "15 damned years in the Navy, seems like it's all done now...." Twila frowns a bit as her money's all but ate by the lugjack machine, her brow knitting as she fights the urge to hit it. Dareus' voice is heard and she peers about until she sees him and she watches him, curiosity getting the better of her even though she tries not to stare too hard. "Al..right.." she comments under her voice as she keeps watching the man, the Twi'lek even managing to feed more chips into the machine while she does so. Standing up, and stretching, he slowly walks along the table, watching the game, "35 going on 90..." He laughs, as some of the people watch Dareus stretch like a geriatric gambler; upong returning near his seat, he takes his long leather coat off, and places it neatly on the chair back, but remains standing, occasionally glancing around the room, and always ending up back at the game. The only time his attention is really slowled from the table, is to offer a smile and nod towards the new arrival by the machines...still a good sense of his surroundings, he thinks to himself. Well, the man's not too harsh on the eyes and she finds herself staring a bit that's way less polite than is acceptable, but eventually Twila looks back at the machine she stands before, just in time to see her losing again. "Damn.." Shaking her head, she decides to move away and check out the table. "Hello.." she offers to everyone before watching the game, trying to get the gist of it before she makes up her mind if she wants to play or not. Dareus nods with a smile, "Evening....feel free to join in if you like." He motions to one of the empty seats, still remaining standing by his own; apparently not ready to sit back down for another round of losing money; even though he's still way ahead. He grabs his whiskey glass, and takes a half decent slip before setting it back on the table, and shifts a bit of the stack of chips he has before his seat, making it look just a little more perfect than it was a moment ago. Twila looks at the table as she sits down, her head slowly tilting to the right as she tries to make heads or tails of the game and failing to do so. "What is this?" the Colonel asks, her voice kept at a low level as to not bother the other patrons that are near by. "It is worth putting moneyd own on?" Twila has yet to put her own chips on the table, not wanting to look like she's going to bet until she's ready to. Pulling the chair back to regain his seat, Dareus moves closer to the table, and tosses one of his lower, 100 credit bets down, "Quite simple actually, try to ensure your hand beats the dealers...." He runs his hand through his hair, as he takes his whiskey back in his left hand, and tapping his fingers gently on the table, "Although it's about time the dealer REALLY started paying out; I think he's just holding out his losses..." Most of the people at the table, including the dealer, laugh slightly, before returning to preparing for the next hand of cards. Twila slips a small amount of chips before her, trying to get her bet in before the dealer does. It's a fairly weak bet, she knows this, but it's all she's willing to bet at this time. "Well, let's hope the dealer knows who just sat down. Perhaps it'll make him feel a little more inclined to be honest." Winking, she lets that be, letting the others guess at what she might mean by her words. Dareus chuckles slightly, "He knows I can't call in a favour from orbit anymore, I think we'll all take any help we can get." The cards are all layed out, with the dealer taking a Rodian and Chiss woman's money, but paying out the bets to the new arrival, and Dareus as well; "Ok.....I think you're our new good luck charm...." although judging by the looks of the loosers, that statement may not be completely accurate. Laughing, Twila takes up her winnings, her head shaking as she does. "Good luck charm. Is that something I can add to my resume?" Resting her arm comfortably upon the edge of the table, she forgoes with betting again despite her (very) minor winning streak. "So, mind if I buy you a drink? I have a little extra money to spend, it seems, and I would love to celebrate but I don't drink alone." Dareus smiles as he finishes off his whiskey; setting it down where it quickly gets collected by one of the waitresses who are hovering around this temporary high roller, "Not at all, as long as I can repay you the favour anytime you wish. Antoine Dareus...." Dropping another bet, this time one of his more standard 500 credit bets, he waves off the look of the cards, "Blind bet." The Chiss man shakes his head "Here we go again..." Dareus calmly leans back in his chair; occasionally glancing as the other players do as they wish for the hand about to come full circle yet again. Twila smiles. "Twila Virda. Nice to meet you, Antoine." She raises her hand and flags down a nearby server and motions towards the gentleman she sits with as well as his glass, pretty much gesturing to them both with a single wave of her hand. "Get the good man whatever he wishes and I'll take a glass of wine. From Ryloth, if you have." Once she's done ordering she allows Antoine to place his own order before she waves her hand again, this time towards the table. "Seems like this can be a fairly dangerous hobby, Antoine. At least dangerous to one's pocketbook." "The usual, please." Obviously, he's been here quite a bit, at least lately, when that's all it takes to have a drink order. The dealer flips his cards, and successfully goes over again; paying out every player who bet, a nice happy smile crosses Dareus' face, "Excellent, maybe I won't have to sell my soul after all." He begins to slowly restack his chips again, that looks like an impressive stack; except to the people who have seen him lose so much over the last few days. "Still, it's not quite as exciting as barreling around a sector of space inside a TIE Fighter....or getting beheaded by a Jedi." Once the chips are all stacked neatly, almost obsessively neat; he continues, "But all things must change, even if it's not always welcomed." Twila nods thoughtfully. "I understand. I would assume that much would pale in comparison to all that." Looking away, she places her bet now, betting the last of her chips. "Well, here's for hoping.." she comments dryly, her eyes lifting to the dealer before she returns to looking at her newly made conversation partnes. "So you used to fly Tie fighters? I wish I could do that." Sighing, she shakes her head as she whispers, "I never regret being a Twi'lek but I do regret not being able to fly." Dropping 1,000 credits on his line, Dareus looks back to Twila, "Well, it was fun while it lasted.....few medals here, ribbons of honor there. Quite honestly, I was expecting to be hauled aboard a Star Destroyer and end up executed the first time I saw some of my old Commanding Officers down here at the Smugglers Dig. I have a feeling though that the Empire has some other use for me, so far. That's probably the only reason that I'm still alive after such a quick resignation and disappearance." The dealer flips his cards, and surprises Dareus again, since he wasn't paying attention; quietly he starts to hand the stacks of chips out to the winners, the half drunk Chiss, Twila, as well as Dareus. Twila slips the chips off of the table, pocketing them for now even though she doesn't really notice she has won. "I am sure the Empire does have a use for you, Antoine. I am sure that it will all be made clear, eventually." Her eyes lower and then raise as she notices the server, the woman grateful for the wine which appears in her hand quickly and is sipped from. "I wouldn't worry too much. You are alive. That's the important thing." Dareus holds off on his bet, and leans back in his chair, taking a long sip of whiskey before holding it in his hand as he reclines. Looking around slightly, he adds, "All may very well may be made clear....that's what worries me, I was always deemed a shit disturber in the Navy...the only person I know of who can get promoted to Commander, and dropped to Ensign with a 10 year prison term, within 1 solid year of command...." A small smirk crosses his face, as he thinks about how close he's been to far worse punishments in his career, even though they seem to be mounting, as of late. Without thinking about it, Twila reaches out and sets a hand upon Antoine's leg, unless stopped, the touch, if it happens, perhaps a subconscious attempt to comfort him. "Well, sometimes it is best not to dwell on such things, I have learned. Altough I have to admit to being a bit curious as to what happened to cause such a bad chain of events to happen like they did, but that's something best left alone during polite conversation, hmm?" Smiling, she tilts her glass with a wink as she adds, "There are nicer things to talk about, isn't there?" He makes no attempt to move her hand, at least this time when a woman touches him, it's not followed 10 minutes later by a lightsaber at his throat; "Absolutely, I do have to admit, it feels....I don't even know if I can say just how good it feels to finally be home; I hadn't been here in nearly 20 years...still just as beautiful as I remember....with a few new welcome additions, of course." While the bartender seems to be happy that Dareus isn't playing, he still slides a holding marker on his space on the table, as the young man speaks to Twila still, "Don't forget, that drink is on me, I owe you as much." Wolf comes back from the refresher feeling, well.. Refreshed. With his cap under his arm he notices the presence of Twila, "Ah, Ms Virda." he says, taking a position behind them. A smile crossing his face, "Glad to see you again." Wolf didn't know a thing about her re-education, he'd offer a small sympathetic gesture, but nothing more. She was lucky. Twila cranes her head to the side, her hand still on Dareus' knee but it is quickly removed as she blushes a bit. "Ah..hello, sir. How are you?" Managing a bit of a smile, she shifts in her chair some, perhaps inviting Wolf to step closer if he wishes to. "Do you know Mister Dareus?" She smiles to Antoine a second or two before she shrugs and drinks more of her wine. "Commander Wolf" He says with a smile, and motions to one of the empty chairs, although the pitboss looks concerned that these 3 seats aren't earning money, he looks as though he won't argue with an Imperial Officer here. "Please join Ms Virda and I, allow me to buy you a drink..." Antoine smiles a bit with his pleasant company, even though he's not quite sure how all this will end up now. After a few moments, a waitress is already next to Wolf, waiting for any order he may have. Wolf nodded to Dareus as he sat in an empty seat, "I see you've met Mr Dareus, here." he said towards Twila, his eyes drop a little as he begins to think. "Corellian Ale." He said to the waitress. It had been a little while since he had been on shore leave, but Wolf was the kind of guy to never take off his Uniform. "I heard you resigned, Antoine." "Oh, yes. Antoine and I have met. And he's been pleasant company." Smiling to the Commander, then, she finds herself at a bit of a loss for words so Twila resigns herself to sipping her wine. She lets the men get caught back up as she listens, her eyes wandering from face to face as she takes in their expressions as well as what it is they say. Nodding slightly, Dareus simply answers Wolf, "As soon as I heard my father disappeared, I had my papers in to Naval High Command; then came home here to find out what the hell is going on. Now it's all in the hands of the Bureau, I guess." He takes a sip of his drink, and smiles reassuringly to Twila, hoping she's not bored to death already about all this shop talk, "It was a tough decision, I probably would have been a Lieutenant Commander by now, a few new medals; but now there may be another path in the Empire for me, I'll see what happens when I get debriefed." Wolf laughed a little as Dareus Bantered. "Lieutenant Commander? Oh really?" he said through another laugh, "Enough talk about the Empire.." he started guzzling down the Corellian ale he had sitting infront of him, "Oh, Twila!" he said, remembering, "I need to ask you a few questions about Ensign Balak." Ambling into the casino on her own, and under her own power, Alex gives the casino one of those 'wow civilians are odd' looks before shrugging and walking through the room. The antics of the players at the slot machines provide entertainment for a few moments before she drifts onward, watching the gamblers sweating over the games and the scantily clad serving people passing out booze like there's no water left, so it's best to drink up now. Twila grins as she shakes her head, about spilling her wine due to the enthusiasm she does so. "No. I am not bored. I just letting you two get reintroduced and caught up and all that." Waving a hand, she tries to flag down an other server as it seems her glass has grown dangerously close to being empty, quite the sin in the Twi'lek's opinion. "It is fun to be able to do so. Perhaps you can call it a guilty pleasure, or something, but I am a horrible eavesdropper and it is something I seem to not be able to shake." So engrossed with the conversation, Twila misses the entrance of anyone new. The waitress comes by with the new glass of wine, handing it to Twila, and Dareus hands her the payment for it; as well as the chips he has accumulated from the day's gambling, "Cash out as well please." He hands her a card, "Usual funds and account." The waitress walks back off, and Dareus continues, "Not really caught up, it's more like a better pilot and better officer coming to see how his now civilian comrade is doing." As Wolf asks his question, he remains silent though, allowing Twila to have the chance to answer. Wolf grins slightly, he was in a smart-ass mood for once. "Antoine, You know Krieg made CAG?" He said, shaking his head.. "And I got demoted!" he finished off the rest of the ale and another waitress came along, "Another!" he said, practically shouting at her. He wanted to have a good time while he was down here. Aliens everywhere.. Wolf's eyes scanned the room, Alot of Imperials would never even think about entering this place. Alex knows that voice. Or, rather, the voice and the tone, usually raised in 'what did you do to this TIE?' when it's being bellowed on the flight deck. Stepping away from the slot machines and the funny people wasting money in them, one hit at a time, Alex literally begins to follow her ears, searching for her CO, and finally spotting him near the bar. Without more than the conscious thought of 'the CO is drunk?' to ramble around in her skull she starts in that direction, cutting through the crowd with all the agility of someone who's trained to fight on her feet or in a fighter. "I am sorry, Commander. You said you have some questions for me? I.." Pausing, Twila smiles as she blushes a bit, cleary abashed at having totally missing on the fact that she was about to be questioned. "What about this ensign, sir?" She has yet to catch the man's name so she's a bit at a loss as to whom it is Wolf's wanting to discuss. She watches Antoine for a minute before she gets a bit of a clue and she whispers up to the Commander, "You're not talking about the mouthy Ensign I decked, are you?" Wolf chuckled a little as he grabbed another Ale from the waitress and flicked her a small pile of credits. "That's the one, Ms." he said, looking down at her, "Call me Seifer, Commander is for my subordinates." Wolf eyed Dareus, "He'd have to call me Sir if he hadn't chickened out from the Navy." Wolf was grinning. The amount of colour, lights, noise and smoke in this single room alone is near overwhelming to someone used to little but the hum of a ship's engines in the distance and the music of space. But Salann has played in similar venues such as this, only with less grandiose names and a different set of company altogether. For his part, he's made sure to clean up, you know, less dirt, less grime, all the times a person has to do to form that all important First Impression. One never knows where you'll find a good time, or work. But at the entrance now, Salann blinks hard. People. Lots and lots and people. And yes, aliens too. Letting a nattily dresser Twilek server bustle past him with a tray of drinks, he sweeps a curious glance around. Alex arrives quietly as Wolf grabs another drink and tosses credits at the waitress before the grill scampers off. Alex hangs back at first, studying her CO with an air of cautious observation, then turns that same look on those he's speaking with. It's not her place to tell the boss to stop drinking if he's clearly wanting to get thoroughly sodden while on leave. But she clearly reasons it might be wise to be nearby as she tries to blend into the surroundings like a dark shadow. Dareus raises an eyebrow, and takes a long sip of his drink, "I feel that there would be a sith influence on that....Lord Malign always had the utmost control of the Starfighter Corps...then again; I cannot speak any bad of him. He gave me a lot of assignments that the Bureau and COMPNOR refused to allow me. Good thing, I suppose that he only answered to the Emperor." He turns his body to face Twila and Wolf fully, relaxed in his seat, downing the rest of his whiskey quickly at the mentioning of chicken; but not wanting to go there, "Everyone has a destiny; after my demotion from Commander, my Naval career was near a standstill; and without Grand Admiral Danik, and only Lord Malign somewhere, it wouldn't go a damned inch anymore. Lots of people made damned sure of that." The waitress arrives with yet another whiskey for the man; not surprisingly, the amount he has drank so far isn't really affecting him at all; and she hands over the card, "Your winnings Mr Dareus, totaling 11 thousand 248 credits; in your usual account." He smiles to her and nods "Thank you." Tucking his card into his shirt pocket, he continues, "At least I had the chance to get my Star of Canis and the Navy Cross before I left. The pension may be terrible; but I'm doing quite alright financially, I'm just missing the danger of being killed every day. Now I only get that danger every second or third day..." He laughs, only because he wasn't really joking, but more conveying that it should be taken as such. "If you like danger, Antoine, then feel free to hang around me. I seem to be quite the magnet for such...things." Twila smirks over to him but soon business grasps the Twi'lek's attention and she turns in her seat so she can look at Wolf fully so she won't be rude. "Well, if you're going to insist that I call you by your first name then I should return the favor, as it were, Seifer. Please..call me Twila. This is a casual setting after all. Now, please. Feel free to ask me what it is you wish to know." She's still not aware of anyone although she does look like she peers about, almost as if searching the room. Salann notices a tall man being somewhat noisy and about 11,000 credits richer (for the moment) as he wanders around the cart tables. With him are a group of people that seems to include a strikingly costumed Twi'lek and nearby a dark-haired severe looking woman who makes him wonder what she would look like when she smiles... He pauses then, tilting his head towards them a moment. Then he glances around, as if contemplating where he might find a drink or two. Taking a short sip of his drink, Dareus just talks quickly to the back of Twila's head, it would seem, with just a quick few badly attempted words in Ryl. WIth those being said, he notices that there is a young junior officer lurking about eyeing the area, and Dareus warms up with a smile, "Come Ensign, care to join us?" He's probably right in assuming Wolf would be happy to have some of his own people, as it were, come over to the table. He stretches his back slightly, then returns to his comfortable position, occasionally glancing around the area, hoping the Ensign would join them, and Wolf would damned well spit out his questions already so all could have an enjoyable evening. Wolf tugs on his Imperial Tunic, which undoes itself quite neatly into a fold. He wasn't on duty so he wasn't worrie.. He guzzled the rest of the drink, "Here is not the place for questions.." Wolf replied to Twila. "It will have to be a one on one thing, it involves an Imperial Officer and his fate." Wolf's face was serious for a moment before he carried on drinking. Twila blinks and blushes as she looks at the man who whispered to her, grinning even as she shakes her head. Best to leave that unreplied to, for now. Dareus' invitation to the person who has been milling around is lost as she's soon turning her attention back to Wolf, her face growing pale as she looks at him. "Surely a fight between two Imperial personnel is not grounds for talking about one's fate and such. That makes it sound so harsh. And I did throw the first blow," she admits. "I do not wish for the man to be put to death or some such thing over this. Tell me that is not what will happen to him?" Alex approaches the table cautiously, glancing from one face to the next, quietly saying, "Sir," towards Wolf before nodding towards Dareus in reply. "If no one objects," she says in a low voice, her usual speaking voice, actually, taking a chair, turning it around deftly, then seating herself with her arms braced on the back of the chair. Dareus turns himself to face the young Ensign, "I have no objections at all..." He motions with his hand towards her chair to encourage her to sit down and relax; and quickly adds a few gestures to get a waitress over for her as well. He still has his own somewhat bemused smile on his face with Twila's reaction, hopefully she was the only one who understood his terrible accent. Taking a sip of his drink, he leaves Twila and the half cut Wolf to speak, while he tries to make the new arrival more comfortable, "What brings you here, Ensign?" "I hear word that this place might be something that passes for fun," Alex replies with a slow nod towards Dareus. "I don't quite get the fun in throwing good credits after bad ones squandered," she adds with a deep frown. "But since I think fun is diving for the deck at top speed and pulling up at the last second, what do I know about 'fun'," she shrugs as she speaks. "The boss says we have a few hours left of shore leave, I figured I'd see what the fuss was about." Wolf's face dropped again at her words, "Did what I say before go through one ear and out the other?" he asked Twila, "I said I don't want to talk about it right now." His drink dropped a little as he spoke, "We're here to have fun. Now chin up and smile." Wolf's finger struck her chin lightly as he said chin up, "We should move to a more.. Entertaining place, we're sitting in a damn casino and the only reason we haven't been asked to leave is because I'm Imperial!" He smiled as Alex approached, he nodded to her and watched her pull up a seat, He didn't expect her to turn up.. Alex to him, was all about her work. Twila blushes a bit more, this time as a result of the touch Wolf placed upon her chin, her lekku twitching a bit as she struggles to recover from that. "Oh! Of course, I am sorry. I didn't mean to linger on that subject." Smiling, she finishes of her wine and puts it aside, letting one of the staff pick up the empty vessel as she gets more comfortable. "A change of venue would be nice," she agrees after a moment. "This place, nice as it is, does have a certain..atmosphere to it." Salann had been about to wander towards a nearby seat at the bar, when something the dark-haired woman said catches his attention. He deliberates a second, then brings up a right hand to gently pull back his left sleeve, revealing what appears to be a metallic black palm-sized keypad curved halfway around that wrist. Something like a thin cable stretches from the keypad up further along the arm, and he glides the fingers of his right hand over the keypad with the ease of practice. A frayed, mechanical voice crackles from the direction of his scarfed throat, in Basic: He addresses Alex with an easy slight smile, a contrast to the flatness of his 'voice'. <--But I could not help but hear. But if it's fun you are looking for--it sounds as if you might like the swoop races. The speed. The rush. Danger and excitement--> He blinks, fingers pausing over the keypad at the other uniformed man's stern words, and wonders if he had overstepped himself. Standing up, and stretching his back and legs slightly while he does so; Dareus waits for the rest of the party to stand up; and in so doing, greets the new arrival, "And a brilliant test of skill for the racers!" with a smile. Too bad it's so late as to not have one going on right now. The waitresses see Antoine, and walk over, he quickly keys his card through a datapad they bring by, "The bill is taken care of now....any ideas where to head now, oh fearless leader?" He says to Wolf, quickly turning to Salann, "Of course, you're welcome to join us as well, the Casino is quickly becoming a boring place to chat." As he awaits for everyone else to decide, he quietly adds to Twila, in his horrible Ryl once again; before just resuming his wait for a plan. Alex turns in her chair, carefully that is, so that she doesn't fall out of it, and tilts her attention upwards towards the slender red haired man speaking to her. "Swoop racing?" she repeats in a quiet voice, "I haven't actually seen that done before. Is it worth it?" she asks even as Dareus stands up, causing her to stand as well, hastily moving the chair back towards the table. She rubs one hand over her head as she thinks, "When do they hold them?" Twila smiles to Antoine and whispers something in response to whatever it was he said, her lekku moving as she speaks as is the way of the language. She then hmms as she notes the time and she stands up. "I am sorry. I just realized what time it is and I need to report to work in the morning way earlier than I would like. Seifer, I do believe that you know how to get a hold of me. Feel free to come by my office sometime and we can talk." Twila also nods to the small crowd that has assembled around them. "Good evening." Salann looks surprised a moment at the tall man's words. Join him and his group of friends? He does smile, however, when the lady responds. His attention on them, he glides his fingers over the keypad once more with a dip of his head: Says the mechanical voice issuing from the vocaliser device against his scarfed throat. He grins, before noting that the exotic-looking Twi'lek appears to be leaving. "I'm not really sure." Wolf said, feeling quite tipsy, "Hmmmm." Wolf looked over the strange new arrival with a curious eye, he fixed up his Tunic and folded his arms. His hand met the mans shoulder, "I remind you, Sir." he started, "This woman is an Imperial officer. Do anything... Stupid.. And you'll be thrown in at the nearest garrison.." A smile ran across his face.. After all. This man just walked up and began talking. Taking a half step towards the boozed up Commander, Dareus smiles, "Relax Wolf, he's just being polite; here on Corellia people are still friendly citizens..." He takes the coat from the back of his chair, and folds it over his left hand, "There always is the Smugglers Dig...most of the scum's outta there, and if there's any left; their passed out in the corner." He looks between everyone and scratches his chin, which is slowly starting to get stubbly from his day long run of luck. "But of course its up to any one of you." Alex hmms quietly, her hands sinking into her pockets as she stands there, considering the idea, "I know we don't have time to stick around for that, but it sure sounds interesting. What's the spec's on a swoop?" she begins to asks before Wolf chimes in, with his tipsy chivalry, causing Alex to give her CO one of those 'Gosh how drunk is he' looks before she quietly says, "Sir, I'm not that kind of girl," she says bluntly. "And I don't think that anyone thinks that I am." She frowns, "Hmm, I would presume that no one thinks that I am," she says, mulling over this idea with a thoughtful look. Surprise crosses Salann's express at the uniformed man's words, then realisation dawns as if to say, 'Ah. Imperial officer?'. No wonder she had that sense of the military about her. He does look somewhat abashed, now, at having the boldness to address the woman, especially when Wolf rests a less than sober hand on his shoulder in reminder. And he had to pick a table full of soldiers to do it! But then he recovers, and perhaps bravely adds: He types, wide-eyed. He stops abruptly, biting his lip then starts typing FAST. Oh Sithspit, what DID he just say?! The word rises in a harsh crackle. <--I mean I had no idea she was with--Alright. I will shut up now.> He types, looking as if he didn't know whether to turn pale or flaming red. Remembering Alex's question, he offers a grunted Erm and a distracted: Alex would blush if she could, but it'd be hard to tell even if she did. Instead of blushing her takes a nice deep breath and organizes her own reply, "I know what you were trying to say, don't give it another thought, there's rules against that sort of thing anyway," she adds, just in case anyone was in doubt. "And I wonder if I can pull up the basic specs. Boss, do you think we could get approval to build one?" "Well, Ensign....the Empire used to have a swoop team comprised of some of the best operators we have; it takes a lot of skill with a ground vehicle to be able to manoeuvre them at such speeds, but it is very very exciting..." Seeing that no one is really prepared to leave the casino, Antoine leans against the table, and adds, "I always wanted to try, but I'm a fighter pilot, chances are I'd be nothing short of dead when I tried to take the controls of one of those things." Crossing his arms over his chest, "While we're waiting, would anyone care for a drink? On me...." Salann tilts his head curiously towards the...Ensign, was it? He says in a manner, if not the tone, that he was surprised. He would, however, probably be the last person to talk about the dangers and the skill needed to pilot such a thing in race conditions, so he decides to let the other one do it. He glances towards the tall fellow, raising an eyebrow curiously as if to wonder if Dareus was including him, blunder and all. If not he could easily wander off. "Get the man a drink," Alex calls to one of the waiters as she drags the chair out again and drops down into it, staring up at Dareus and the red-head before speaking, "Yeah but man, there's nothing wrong with a little extra piloting training. If it's been done before, maybe we can talk the Lady into letting us do it again. It's worth a shot, right?" The waitress heads over with Dareus' signature whiskey, and asks all present for anything they might want, except for Wolf, who has disappeared somewhere into the restroom, perhaps, or passed out in a corner. "You might as well start me a new tab with this round." He pulls a chair out for himself, and motions for Salann to take a seat as well, "I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to convince Commodore Caiton for the ability...chances are there may be some swoops somewhere in an Imperial storage depot somewhere, but who knows. I've been out of the Navy for only 2 weeks and the whole chain of command seems moved up, reorganized, and neatly pressed into a box." He takes a quick sip of the new whiskey before looking to his new red-headed friend, "Well, the next time there are some swoop races here on Corellia, perhaps I'll see you there, I can't quite see me leaving the planet anytime soon with all the business I have to take care of down here, Mr....?" Salann grins then, and with a relieved sigh moves to join them. He makes himself comfortable at the game table, resting the arm with the keypad against it; the way he dances his fingers over the keys, addressing them, suggests that the vocaliser is already a natural part of him. Brain to fingers and all that: He introduces with a nod of thanks, having pronounced the name as Sah-lunn. He wryly adds. He pauses with a silent Ah, then adds towards the waitress: He indicates Dareus, then sends an easy smile towards the Ensign. Alex levels a finger at Salann in a pointed gesture, "Bad poets should be required to eat their bad work. If you must write, do it in private, and for crying out loud, wash your hands afterward. Nasty habit," she adds before grinning briefly, a quick flash of white teeth before she extends one hand, "Alex, Alex Dante," she introduces herself. "I don't drink actually," she says with a nod to the waitress before turning back to the topic at hand. "You think there might be some in storage? Huh, I bet that requisition form would take a week to fill out. And everything's dangerous, to some degree," she adds in her usual quiet low voice. "It's all a matter of managing the situation." "Antoine Dareus....ex Imperial Ace, jack of all trades, master of none...." he smirks, as he takes the longer sip from his drink and nods to Alex, "Not a week to fill out; but depending on things, it could take a year to find out if and where, any are." The waitress returns shortly, with a glass of fine Corellian Whiskey for Salaan, and another for Dareus, causing him to look up at her, "Maybe I'm here a little too much....?" A laugh comes from his lips as she turns to head away, allowing him to bring his attention back to the others in the conversation. Salann cannot help but look amused a moment, perhaps pleased that she was actually relaxing a bit. Um, how does one address her again? <--Lady Dante, that I do not dare inflict such torture upon the general populace.> He offers a warm smile as he takes her hand in a polite shake, then lets go to resettle over the keypad. He dryly notes towards Dareus. Alex makes a quiet sound that's almost like laughter, but it's hard to know for sure. "I'm just Alex, or just Dante, pick your poison, it doesn't matter much to me. And scarred, woe is me, such an evil travesty?" she quips in reply before grinning again, "Good to know you exercise poetic restraint. After all, bad poetry really is a hanging offence in some quarters." Dareus lets a small laugh leave his lips, "Or in some of the lesser establishments, even here on Corellia, standard practice is to be shot first, asked to stop after." Setting his drink down gently on the table, he leans back in his chair, and crosses his arms over his chest, enjoying the now relaxing atmosphere. Nodding softly, "Not anymore, I spent the last 15 years in the Starfighter Corps, last month I resigned my commission." Reaching again for his glass, and quickly emptying the rest of the small amount left in it, before exchanging it for the new, and holding that one simply in his hand, "I'm just here at home for the time being; finding myself again, if you will. Maybe its just an early mid-life crisis...." looking over to Alex, "but make no mistake, I still get the urge to grab an Interceptor and have some fun; but for now, a relaxing time at home seems to be best." Just how long that would last, not even he could tell. Then again, the one person Antoine knows who could tell him, just didn't seem to be around Corellia anymore... Salann sets his glass down, wincing at the public burning part. He chuckles with a shake of his head. He turns towards Dareus with a raise of the eyebrow. For some reason, he decides not to ask the reasons why. It doesn't seem his business after all. He muses. He remarks, repeating his earlier words. Fixing Dareus with a faintly incredulous look, Alex blurts out a rude question, "You resigned? Why?" she asks, the second question even ruder than the first but she looks clearly stunned. "Why give up being a pilot, for any reason?" She realizes, after a moment, that she is being rude and stumbles her way into saying, "No matter the cause, certainly it's not worth giving up the thrill of the hunt, or the exhilaration of piloting a fighter into combat." Dareus shakes his head, standing up slowly while finishing his drink very quickly, "I do apologize, I should get home so I can be up in the morning for my meetings. It's been a pleasure meeting you both..." While he turns, putting his jacket back on, letting the large leather overcoat obstruct most of his form; he turns just before heading to the exit, and decides he might as well let Alex know the truth, couldn't hurt. "My father disappeared. I'm now here to find out why, and who took him." He can easily understand her attitude; being a zealous officer himself at once, so he waves goodnight to all, and heads out the door.
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