Open Coruscant Drinking the Pay Away

[Liana Jek]

Coruscant, Lower Levels, Lackadaisy Bar and Grill.​

It had been a few months since Liana Jek had moved to Coruscant after taking the job with Blackwell, what was supposed to be a design tech position. Something had gone wrong with the paperwork however and she had ended up the ships technician on a medium freighter doing runs from Manaan to Coruscant. You know what they say about jobs looking too good to be true.

Liana hadn't really met many people since moving, and spent most of her time on the freighter keeping it running. Now she had a week of and no clue what to do with it. She could have picked up an extra shift at the Blackwell hangar Bay, but she didn't really feel like hanging out with the hangar jockeys. So instead she found herself down at a local bar near her small apartment in the lower levels, the Lackadaisy Bar and Grill.

"Just put it on my tab." Liana nodded to the server droid who brought her second ale. Corellian of course, fresh from the tap and still foaming. The bar was owned by a cute cathar couple, with the wife tending the bar while the husband cooked in the back, with a few droids to round out the staff. It was a bit of a dive but the beer was cold and the food was good. The only thing Liana lacked was company.

@Ecclessey

 

[Derna Lorso]

Derna had been visiting her parents today and... well, let's just say she could really use a drink. On the train back to Block D3726 she passed the district of one of her shipmates, Liana, and for some reason she got off the train. The Twi'lek was relatively new to Blackwell compared to her, which meant she didn't have the Blackwell logo on her crib and for that Derna actually envied her. Not that her living conditions were any better because this place was still in the lower levels and thus a dumpster fire waiting to happen just like her own block.

It was coincidence that she spotted the Twi'lek inside a small bar, but Dern didn't let that stop her. "Lian!" the human called out, turning a few heads and most notably that of the Cathar woman behind the bar, the latter didn't look too happy. "Oops," Dern followed up as she approached the bar, slightly favoring her left leg, "Two shots of Corellian."

Before the Twi'lek had the chance to invite her to sit, Derna had claimed the barstool next to her. "Just spend the day with the parents," she said in a way that Liana, who she had never discussed her parents with, should automatically understand that was naturally horrible. "So we're getting drunk."

The bruises from her rather explosive homecoming surprise bothered a bit, but she tried her best to hide it from Liana. Last thing she needed was finding out the Twi'lek was a stickler for rules and gets her booted off their next haul.

The shots were placed before them and Dern was quick to pick them both up and give one to Liana, "As my parents say:" she rose her glass up over her head, "First drink is for Blackwell!"

@Arclight

 

[Liana Jek]

Liana glanced away from the holo that had been playing a shock boxing game as she heard her name shouted at her from the entrance. She recognized the pilot of the Itinerant medium freighter they both crewed for Blackwell. Dena? Denar? Derna!

"Hey Derna." Liana greeted the woman as she sat down across from her. "Oh, rough visit?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow, her gaze lingering on a bruise that hadn't been there the last time she saw her on shift.

Raising the shot with Derna, she echoed her toast without enthusiasm. At least she got the good stuff, Liana thought as she enjoyed the taste of home. "Real company sticklers, the family huh?" She asked, finding the toast a bit odd. Since when did people drink to work.

@Ecclessey

 

[Chant Sindhu]

This joint is one of the few redeeming things about this level.

Thought Chant, devouring her bantha burger without restraint at the bar. Of course she didn’t air such an opinion not wanting to take the chance that some drunkard nearby might be offended. With her luck it would become a riot or something. She could do without that kind of excitement.

Half way done with the burger, the Mon Calamari drank some Corscuani beer to wash down the throat. She looked up to watch the ongoing match on the holoscreen. She winced as one of the fighters took a right hook to the jaw. “Gonna to feel that in the morning.” Chant commented out loud to no one.

Subsequently she overheard some of the conversation next to her between a Twi’lek and a human. Blackwell, huh? Wonder what kind of work they do for that company? Curiosity aside the freelancer decided not to say anything. Better to listen for the time being.

@Arclight @Ecclessey

 

[Derna Lorso]

The shot of Corellian went down with the old familiar burn. "Two more!" Liana was probably tough. She had to be as a Twi'lek in the lower levels. Still, Derna doubted whether she could survive a few rounds with the Lorso family. "Who? My family?" she asked rhetorically with a voice full of bitterness. "The Lorso's have been part of Blackwell since its very founding," she stuck out her tongue and pointed at it as she bent her head down passed the table, imitating a puking movement she without a doubt had a lot of experience with. "My dad thought he'd be the first to rise above middle-management," she continued as the server droid placed two new glasses in front of them, "Got passed over again."

Again she took the two glasses and put one in Liana's hand, "Second is for us!" She downed the shot quicker and more enthusiastically than the first, "and the third and the fourth, hey droid!" she held up two fingers, signalling to the boltbucket that she wanted two more Corellian.

They had five more days of downtime before they had to report to the ship again. That meant she had four days to unwind and one to sober up and practice to smile through the headache. Hopefully her bruises healed a bit more in the coming days, though, because truth be told, it kinda hurt to sit.

While they waited for their third shot, Derna looked at Liana bit closer and noticed the one Corellian Ale in front of her. "I saved you from drinking alone, didn't I?" or was it the other way around? If she hadn't spotted Liana, if she hadn't exited the train when she did, had she been trying to drink herself unconscious alone at her apartment right now?

@Arclight

 

[Liana Jek]

Liana grinned as Derna showed no signs of slowing down. So thats how tonight was gonna go was it. Drowning family sorrows at the bottom of a shot glass. She could get behind that.

"You'd think there would be some sort of reward for that sort of loyalty." Back to the very founding. Liana scowled as she thought back to the orientation holodocumentary she had to watch when she first started with Blackwell, luckily it was relatively fresh still. "You're saying the Lorso's have been working for Blackwell for... almost a thousand years? And I thought I was a stan for CEC"

Throwing back the second shot, she savored the burn. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad here on Coruscant, if Derna knew how to party like her old co-workers on the line.

Glancing at her beer, Liana shrugged. "It was either drink alone or pick up another shift tinkering at the hangar," raising her beer, she continued, "This was more appealing." With that, she knocked it back and drained the whole thing with a few chugs before wiping the foam from her mouth with a grin as the next set of shots were placed in front of them

"Next rounds on me." She said as she raised a pair of fingers at the server droid to indicate to keep them coming. "I wonder if you Blackwell types party as hard as us Corellians."

@Ecclessey

 

[Chant Sindhu]

Chant listened while finishing off her burger. She was a bit disappointed that there was no mention of any Blackwell business. Pretty foolish of me to have believe that. The pilot thought, sipping her beer. Judging by what the two mentioned job prospects with Blackwell would be poor.

At least as a freelancer I get to choose my jobs. Granted it doesn’t always pay enough.

The shock boxing match on the screen went into the third round. She watched the two fighters circled, jabbing at one another. As Chant continued to watch she heard the Twi’lek another set drink then another and another. A chuckle escaped her at the Corellian reference.

She then ordered. “I‘ll have another beer.” Seconds later a glass slid over to her. Raising the glass in a separate toast Chant proclaimed.

“To her majesty, Queen Parnelli of the Naboo. Long may she reign!”

@Ecclessey @Arclight

 

[Derna Lorso]

Derna eagerly took her third shot from the table, "Extra shifts? Don't be silly, from now on you call me." She raised her glass again and was about to make another toast when she heard the Mon Calamari, shrugged and then lowered the glass again. Having a Mon Calamari praise the Queen of a world on the other side of the galaxy to their own, and that instead of their own monarch? Heh, not like she cared. She raised the glass above her head again, "To Queen Parnelli!" and downed with the eagerness of someone just beginning a night long bender.

It only dawned on her now that Liana was very much like her parents, in a way. She looked the engineering part, probably spend a lot of time in the ship's gym to leave no misogynistic doubts about her strength during engine room malfunctions. She picked up extra shifts on her downtime, which was something her parents often did. Put in the effort, take an extra shift and management will notice. They never did. It was time Liana learned what else there was in a life in the Core. She had steady employ, enough credits each month to live comfortable in the lower levels and she should learn to enjoy it more.

By the time the next pair of shots arrived Derna already felt like all her burdens were washed away, "Alright," she handed Liana her fourth shot, "This toast is yours." From the corner of her eye she spotted the man behind the grill through the window behind the bar.. a large and seemingly strong Cathar. Interesting..


@Arclight @Minuteman75

 

[Liana Jek]

"Yeah extra shifts. Always got shit for it back at CEC as well, but they had better OT rules." Blackwell paid better on paper, but Liana was quickly learning that it was just that, on paper.

Side-eying the Calamari toasting to some queen she had never heard of, LIana shrugged and raised her glass in toast. "Queen Parella!" She shouted before the whiskey went down the hatch. She had said it right. Right?

By now the booze was beginning to settle in on the beer she had already drank and a warm flush feeling was spreading from her middle. If she didn't slow down a little bit she might be in trouble. But by the time she had the presence of mind to worry about it, the next pair of shots had arrived.

Following Derna's eyes to the large hunk of Cathar visible back in the kitchen, a sly grin formed on her face as Liana prepared to do her own toast. "To strong men serving hot beef!" She shouted before downing the shot and turning to look at the bar. "Can we get a pair of nerf burgers over here!."

@Ecclessey @Minuteman75

 

[Chant Sindhu]

It was a pleasant surprise that the two Blackwell employees actually joined her toast. Chant tilting her head at them in examination before grinning. Probably the booze but I appreciate the gesture all the same. She was certainly not going to complain about it.

Without a second thought she downed her glass moments later. Sighing, she gestured for another round. Might as well. The Mon Calamari concluded to herself.

Hearing the pair’s next toast she decided to return the gesture, raising her cup in unison with them. She drank her third round in a heartbeat while Liana called for some food for herself and Derna. “You two are okay in my book.” Chant remarked with a chuckle.

@Ecclessey @Arclight

 

[Derna Lorso]

Dern raised her eyebrows in surprise upon hearing Liana's toast, but still gave it an approving "Oh yes!" before downing her shot. Apparently their tastes in men weren't so different. Forget the suave boys that were too handsome for their own good. Fellow wage slaves were where it's at... Kriff, now she really sounded like her mother.

It was at this point that the Mon Calamari addressed them with a chuckle. "Just working folk, girl-" Derna replied, leaning back into her chair to get a better look. She never really had interacted with many Mon Cal people. Bit fishy-looking, but people always warned not to say that to their faces.. "-come join us." Alright, so it was a bit spur of the moment, but like Liana had before Dern showed up the Mon Cal was drinking alone and on a day like today.. "You never know when your neighbor's apartment blows up."

realizing that no one would understand that reference, Derna sat back upright and happily accepted one of the two shot glasses the droid just delivered, "Bring us one more for the Mon Cal." Not wanting to risk the mood changing over a perceived bomb threat, she shrugged and tossed Liana a little smile, "Someone has been blowing up apartments in my housing block. Yesterday my neighbor got hit." she turned to Chant and motioned for her to pull up a chair with haste, "There's a proper Mandalorian on the case, but-" she put the shot glass on the table and shook her head, "-I don't know" Meaning the part where he puked all over her couch definitely ruined the image of the heroic frontier gunslinger she had seen in the movies. In the lower levels if you wanted justice, you usually went to the local gang boss and put yourself in a life debt. They'd have the culprit brought the you within the week. Maybe they'd be bloodied, missing a few fingers and a tongue, but the job would be done.

@Arclight @Minuteman75

 

[Liana Jek]

The Mon Cal who had previously toasted to some queen remarked something and now Derna was inviting her over. Liana was sufficiently buzzed to be okay with the idea and chimed in her support. "Yeah join us!" She was a little confused about the exploding apartment comment but took it to mean "you could die any day" until Derna elaborated further.

"Kark are you serious?! You sure it isn't the mando doing it? They like blowing stuff up right?" Liana knew jack shit about Mandalorians, like most people she had at most heard stories or maybe seen a picture here and there. Color her curious. "Is it true that they never take off their helmets?"

@Ecclessey @Minuteman75

 

[Chant Sindhu]

At the invite, Chant shrugged her shoulders. Might as well. She thought, getting up before taking a seat with the pair. Of course at the bombing reference, she tilted her head in puzzlement at the human. “Huh?”

Of course, briefly it was interrupted when given a new drink. She listened as Dern explained what’s going on about the apartment bombings and something about a Mandalorian investigating it. When Liana added her opinion about the situation, the Mon Cal nodded.

“Are you sure he is a real Mandalorian? I hear a lot of bounty hunters pretend by wearing their armor.”

Pausing for a moment, she added. “Oh by the way, I’m Chant Sindhu, commercial pilot good to meet ya both.”

@Ecclessey @Arclight

 

[Derna Lorso]

Mentioning the Mandalorian sure did attract their curiosity. They sure were a rare sight, especially in the Core. Derna shrug her head, "This one puked on my couch and then hid in my bathroom to avoid having to show his face," the shot returned to her lips and she slowly threw it back, "No idea who's behind it, but I haven't been home for months." She was considering just to rent an apartment somewhere else. Saved her the hassle of having to worry about being targeted by some mysterious arsonist. Maybe if she earned a little bit more on the side she could move up to the upper lower levels.. get a roommate perhaps.. and then the Coruscant Security Officers would be dealing with shit like this instead of Mandalorians and crime bosses. "If I think my apartment is next I'll just sleep on the ship," she normally shared her bunk, but no one really slept on this ship unless you had the watch so the chance was big she'd have the room for herself.

Turning to the Mon Cal, Derna smiled to alleviate the seriousness of her predicament. It was normal stuff for lower level residents, so it shouldn't be allowed to ruin their night of drinking and making new friends. "Nice to meet you, Chant. I'm Derna and this-" she gestured towards the Twi'lek sitting across from her, "-is Liana." No reason to flaunt working for one of the galaxy's few mega-corporations known to cause more harm than good.

@Arclight @Minuteman75