Ask Bespin Me Right Round

[Castor Azari]

The freedom Castor had acquired over the last couple of years had brought him great happiness, or at least what he perceived to be happiness, but he was definitely uncertain about how to use his newfound freedom as he often ended up on mindless hedonistic pursuits, as he was now. He had a place within the Sith Eternal and had devoted himself to learning their ways and striving for their goals which he had come to accept as his own and so had been given purpose in life but despite it all, he still felt lost. This wasn't the life he had been destined for, the force sensitivity, he had never wanted nor chosen it and yet it was determining his path.

Castor glanced around the room with hazy eyes, looking for another activity to pursue before his eyes fell back on the bartender next to him. "Same again." He said to the man behind the bar as he placed his empty glass on the table for the fourth time. The bartender raised an eyebrow before refilling the glass and returning it to the young man who didn't so much as thank the bartender but took the drink and got up from his seat to join a handful of people at a table playing cards. He wasn't very good and painfully inexperienced but with a certain amount of money you could do anything so he placed a bag of credits on the table to signify his involvement.

It wasn't one of the most sleazy joints in the galaxy but it wasn't the high end socialising experience he had been so used to at home and while he tried to keep his background hidden sometimes it was all too obvious that his lack of life experience wasn't just limited to that of playing cards. He took a seat at the table and was dealt a hand of cards which he picked up and looked at, remaining indifferent as to avoid any tells. Castor intended to use his force abilities to his advantage, allowing him to sense the mood and intentions of those present to cheat in the game but in doing so felt the presence of another force sensitive at the table and his eyes fell on a young woman opposite him with white hair.



@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana was in a bit of a bind, for you see, she was legendarily bad at card games. Like the worst. But she had nothing else to do on Bespin other than play cards and wait for her shuttle to leave the station. She had been sitting at this table for only a bit, her black hat pushed down tightly on her head, as she looked at the frankly horrid deck she had been gifted this day.

She sighed and looked down to the felt lined table, chewing her lip as she pondered her poor life choices up til now. She wished Astra was here. She was shook from this stupor by the new comer, as he threw a bag of credits into the pot and drew several glances to himself; including Alana. Initially she was only interested in the money, but her eyes widened in a mix of recognition and horror as she felt the echoing of the man's force presence register on her senses, filling her ears with that toxic static ringing that chilled her to the core. He locked eyes on her, and she knew that he knew. Two force sensitives sitting at a table together playing a game of cards, how could this get any better? With a rising sense of nervousness, Alana reached for the drink to her left and raised it to her lips and drained it's contents, before realizing she never ordered a drink. She turned her head ever so slightly to the left to find a rather displeased Rodian staring at her, as his snout made a serious of angry sounding noises, Alana only laughed nervous and pushed the now empty glass back towards him. "Hehe, um...sorry?" She muttered, scratching the back of her head as she slowly raised her cards up like a deflector shield; trying to block this new comer out from the new game that was about to start. The Rodian left in a huff, clearly unhappy about what the white haired woman had done. This force interaction stuff always got her nerves on the fritz, and this certainly wasn't going to help her win this here card game.

@Sunfrog

 

[Castor Azari]

Castor was intrigued by the presence of another force sensitive but was not going to pursue the woman for that matter alone, no, if he were to show interest in her for any reason it would be because she was the most attractive person at the table. It wasn't in his nature to live and let live but given his own complicated past with his force sensitivity he wouldn't push her on the matter should they engage in conversation, lest he saw potential in her. He couldn't help but smile when she mistakenly drank someone else's drink but he attempted to amend the matter by gesturing to one of the servers to replace the Rodian's drink and bring another for the lady to which the server soon complied.

As the game began, he sensed around the table, using the force as a guide for the actions he should take. He had once been fearful, even ashamed of his abilities after having the fear instilled in him by his parents but after realising how he could use them to his advantage and the power he could achieve by using the force, he became more receptive of his force sensitivity which fuelled his already self-righteous beliefs. The person to his right would bluff, the person to his left had good cards but not good enough, he struggled to read the woman in front of him but with a good hand and more credits at hand he was willing to take his chances.

After a few moments of going round the group with people playing or folding, Castor placed a handful of credits in the middle of the table and sat back in his chair, arms folded, clearly very at ease with the situation. "All in." He declared, to which three people shook their heads and dropped out. He tried to meet Alana's gaze and sense her intentions though she was seemingly trying to hide behind her cards. She wanted the money, he knew that much, but how far she would be willing to go to get it was a different matter.



@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Come at you live from across the table, Alana was trying to not show herself from behind her cards, as she wasn't too happy with the hand she had been dealt; but damn that credit pile was tempting. The Rodian was indeed placated by the gesture of the strange man who had sat down, and Alana herself was curious that he had given her a drink as well. She lowered the cards just a tad as the drink arrived to her side, as she looked to the drink, then to the man, her expression and thoughts would most clearly indicate that she was confused; though Castor would only sense confusion amidst an almost droning static noise within the woman's mind. Alana wasn't hard to read, but her mind was...well sorta confusing, like trying to hear a message through a torrent of static.

The white haired wonder bit her lip ever so slightly, her red eyes studying the man, wonder what it was he might want, or if he was merely taking pity on her like so many in the past had. Alana grabbed her drink and nodded to the man her thanks, before raising it to her lips and sipping from it. It helped steady her nerves, but that echoing was still happening, though it was weak enough for her to tune it out for the time being. Given that the thoughts of this strange man, or the static noise crawling at the back of her skull, Alana directed her attention to her cards, and before she knew it the rest of the table had already bowed out. She looked to the rest of the players, before looking to the man across from her, who was going all in now. Feth. The dealer looked over to her, the Mon Calamari giving her a look that said 'make up your mind will ya?', but that didn't help things in the slightest. "All in." She fumbled out, sliding her meager pot into the center, as she wince; she totally screwed this up. She forced a smile to her face, as she set her cards down on the table and leaned onto her elbow like she wasn't concerned about losing her month's pay. "You willing to take that gamble big fella?" She grinned, though it was clearly a fake smile, taking up the glass and sipping it once again. She was totally screwed.

@Sunfrog

 

[Castor Azari]

Admittedly, gaining the level of concentration needed to reliably use force sense after a handful of drinks was proving to be difficult and it didn't help that the white haired woman's mind seemed cloudy at best so she was near impossible to read. Still, he wasn't in it for the money so he didn't care what he gained or lost, it was just something to do, though he couldn't help but wonder why her mind was so difficult to understand and intended to investigate since she was the person that stood out most at the table, in more ways than one.

"I am if you are." He replied with an air of confidence, although it may have been the affect of the alcohol rather than his perceived chance of success. Castor lay down his cards and read Alana's as she lay hers down and then smiled and shook his head before turning his gaze to the woman opposite him as she had just won all the money. "You got lucky." He taunted her before turning his attention to the new cards that were being dealt out. By now, his own mind was unclear and any chance of winning would be purely down to luck.

They played a few more rounds of the game, washed down with a few more drinks, with almost everyone winning at least once, though the Rodian seemed to have a bad streak of luck but after a while Castor grew bored of the game and pushed himself up from his chair to leave, leaving with far fewer credits than he had when he joined. He gestured for Alana to join him at the bar and hoped to figure out what it was that was so different about this young woman, perhaps she could prove to be of some use to him.



@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

When the cards were revealed, Alana half thought someone had drugged her as she looked down her cards, wide eyed and full of shock as the credit pile was pushed towards her. "You have gotta be fething kidding me." She mumbled, sitting down as she looked like she was in absolute shock. She almost never won, like ever. She looked up to the man across from the table and gave a nervous smile, feeling a bit guilty for having beat him in this hand. When the next few games came up, Alana played it safe, knowing she wasn't destined to win for another five years now, she kept most if her winnings intact thakfully; it would certainly save her hide in what laid ahead.

Once the games were done, she was all too intrigued to pass up meeting with the strange man, but once she came within a few feet of him, she felt an immense cold begin to grip at her. It was like someone dropped the tempature a few degrees in the room, but it only lasted a mere moment. What truly caught her off guard was a high pitched scream echoed out, and for a brief moment Alana felt a mere moment if freight threaten to over take her, though she steeled herself and pushed through. She forced a smile, though there was a sense that she seemed distracted by something. The huntress was more occupied about concern for her mental health and what was triggering this reaction; after all, she had met several force users, and nothing like this had ever happened before. "Well howdy there partner, my names Alana, and who might you be?" She started, joining the man by the bar as she ordered herself a nice glass of Vodka. Clearly alcohol was going to be needed, certainly that would help her get her wits about her.

@Sunfrog

 

[Castor Azari]

Castor smiled at Alana as she joined him at the bar and ordered himself another drink, leaning on the bar with one arm so he could turn to face the woman that had intrigued him so. She was likely sizing him up, both visually and through the force which was to be expected, he didn't trust her yet so she had no reason to trust him either and even if she did decide to trust him she'd soon learn that it was a mistake, she wasn't an ally yet so she wasn't of importance to him.

"I'm Castor." He replied absent-mindedly while trying to concentrate on sensing anything about her that might help him to understand her more, her thoughts, feelings, but he couldn't discern anything it seemed without high levels of concentration which he was far from achieving at that moment. What he could sense though was her momentary fear, was she a light sider?

The chances of him saying something he probably shouldn't were high but he didn't care, she hardly seemed like a threat. "There aren't many people like us around." He said, referring to their force sensitivity, assuming that she knew she was force sensitive given the way she reacted to him and seemed to be attempting to block her mind with something, whether it be drugs, alcohol or both, such a warped mind seemed intentional. "So what brings you here?" He asked, sharing Alana's gaze with her unusually coloured eyes.


@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana was indeed seizing the man up, she wasn't sure what he wanted; maybe he was looking to hire her? Still, she took a drink a the bar, screw driver, keeping it simple for once. Taking the drink she glanced back to this 'Castor' character, smirking just a tad. He seemed to be thinking about something, but what it was she couldn't tell. That smile quickly deflated though, especially when she learned that he was talking about her force sensitivity. That static rumble picked up for a few moments as she felt rather annoyed, so she knocked back her drink and shook her head. "The fewer of 'us' there are the better." Alana said simply, leaning her back into the counter as she seemed rather agitated that Castor brought up her 'condition'.

"I'm not here by choice, believe me. My transport got delayed, so here I am." She said, swirling her drink about in her hand before taking another swig. "What about you?" She asked, turning her gaze from the room towards Castor, as he seemed to be interested in her. Sadly he probably just wanted to gauge her force, literally and figuratively most like; men. "If your wanting to 'whisk me away and teach you things you've only dreamed about' your barking up the wrong loading ramp buddy. Thanks for the drinks, but I'm not going to be your padawan." She stated, sighing as she finished off her drink and ordered another one. "But thanks for letting me win that game back there. Might actually be able to get back home now."

@Sunfrog

 

[Castor Azari]

Alana seemed irritated at the mention of her force sensitivity and he couldn't say he blamed her, he had never been particularly fond of the quality in himself until he learned of the power he could achieve through the dark side of the force. His parents had been right to be afraid, they could never have begun to imagine the extent to what he could become. "Three years ago I would've agreed with you." He replied, trying to show that he had some understanding of Alana's experiences since after all, he had felt the same way until he found the Sith Eternal by chance.

"Oh you know, just anything to keep myself entertained." He said casually, following her gaze, trying to get an understanding of what she was thinking since he couldn't make sense of what was in her head, or his own for that matter. "Padawan?" He scoffed, amused by the idea. "Do I look like a Jedi?" He asked incredulously. "There are people beyond the Jedi, people who understand people like us without having to devote your life to being a warrior of peace." He tried to appeal to Alana's emotions in the hopes that she would be more receptive towards her force sensitivity.

She didn't seem like a totally lost cause but a difficult one all the same, very stubborn, he could respect that but he wouldn't, being stubborn was an annoyance. "Where are you from?" He asked, not recognising her accent, though from the looks of it it didn't seem like it was a very affluent planet, or at least not an affluent part of one of the core worlds.



@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana rolled her eyes as the man tried to level with her, something about 'I know how you feel' or 'I respect that position'. She had heard it all before, but there was no way in hell that force mumbo jumbo was going to swindle her out of her beliefs. She was rather reserved about this whole thing with her own family, so to a stranger she was even less willing to talk about her 'curse', especially in public like this. "Oh, so like the rest of us then?" She muttered, having had just about enough of this guy right about now.

Alana was in fact just about to walk away, until Castor mentioned something beyond there being jedi, and that caught her interest. She raised an eyebrow, her body relaxing back against the bartop as her face showed signs of contemplation. "What do you mean beyond the jedi? I mean, is there another option other than being a jedi?" Alana asked, not having heard of this other option, not like she was going to take it anyways. When Castor inquired on where the girl was from, Alana told him straight up. "Dantooine." She bit her lip and seemed rather conflicted, part of her wanting to know more about what this man was talking about, and another part of her demanded she storm away and hear no more of this force nonsense. But if she stayed, maybe she'd have something to press into Kraud about when she was home next, and that was just something she couldn't have passed up on. "What about you big man? You have an interesting accent going, but you ain't from Coruscant." She asked, partly curious as she had heard his accent before, but she couldn't name the place of it's origin.

@Sunfrog

 

[Castor Azari]

Castor knew when to drop a matter and now was one of those times, he didn't need sensitivity to the force to be able to sense the irritation radiating from Alana. He remembered how he had felt like she had and although he didn't want to empathise nor did he particularly care about her feelings, it would be tactful not to annoy her if he wanted her to give him the time of day. Although he disagreed with her, he wouldn't dispute her position on it for now.

When Alana showed an interest in his words, he couldn't help but smirk. If she was willing, she could prove to be an asset to the Sith Eternal, or at the very lest- himself. "There are other... groups who understand, who can help you control what it is that you fear. There are other... Orders." He paused before continuing. "I joined when I was eighteen and up until then I was afraid of my force sensitivity, I hated it but I've learned to embrace it and control it." He spoke slowly, hoping some of what he said would get through to Alana. "You could do the same." He suggested. "But I understand this is a sore topic so if you don't want to talk about it..." He said in an attempt to feign caring about her wellbeing.

Dantooine, the farming planet? Interesting, he thought. Although, now she mentioned it, she definitely seemed like a country girl from the way she spoke and dressed and her lack of credits supported the theory. He shifted slightly at the mention of his own origins, it was only fair since he had asked the same but it didn't make the question any easier. There was no point in lying this early on, if the questions got more personal then he wouldn't hesitate to create a fictitious story but for now the questions were innocent enough. "Corellia." He replied plainly with another swig of drink.



@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana began to look very uncomfortable as Castor began to talk about the Sith. Alana wasn't sure what a Sith was, but this guy was making it sound like some weird cult, and Alana had absolutely no interest in that. "You know what, you can keep all that control in your little orgy circles in that there cult, alright?" She stated, not wanting to know what this guy was on able, half past done trying to understand it. Were all these force unseeing groups weird? At least the jedi were trying to help people, this on the other hand, what were they even trying with this Sith thing? Alana didn't want to control anyone or anything, nor embrace this curse she had been bestowed. Castor seemed to realize that his talk was making Alana uncomfortable, and before she could make for the door, he switched topics; least she could stall him for a bit before making the Kessel Run.

Alana glanced back to the Sith, her eyebrows raised in a bit of surprise as the man said Corellia, seemed to be a popular place; heck, most people she met seemed to be from there, strange. "Heh, me too. But that was years ago. Haven't been back in years. That pollution issue is never going to be fixed." Alana smirked, taking her drink and finishing it in one big gulp. "Well Castor, it's been a pleasure, and good luck with that cult of yours, but I probably should jet. Don't need you to try and kidnap me and all that." With that, Alana tossed her payment on the counter and made her exit; with her winnings in tow of course. She needed to get away from this man, because he was legit creeping her out. It was too bad too, he was somewhat presentable, might have made a good boyfriend for Astra.

@Sunfrog